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Nothing but sheer will was keeping me going on, even as the sun broke through the sky. It was probably around an hour after sunrise when we stopped in a small grove of white barked trees. Cadvan said it was called a Irihel, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
I sat down clumsily, as did the others. Cadvan said there was a rivulet nearby that we could wash up in, but I decided that washing could wait till tomorrow; right now all I wanted to do was sleep. I lie down and within seconds fell asleep.
It was late when I woke up but nobody was awake yet. I realized that I had never been allowed to sleep so long. I got up silently and, careful not to make any noise, went to the rivulet that Cadvan had been talking about. The water was freezing cold, a fact I tried to ignore as I tried to wash most of the dirt from my hair.
I could only stand to be in the rivulet for a couple of minutes; I got cold too easily, which made living in the mountains a pain. Every winter I was sick at least a month in bed with a terrible cold.
I dressed and sat on the bank as I finger combed my waist length orange gold hair before putting it back in the long braid it was always in, trying it at the end with a black ribbon. It was too troublesome to leave my hair loose, like Maerad does.
I swiftly returned back to where everybody was but they were still asleep so I took my satchel before settling down on the bank of the rivulet comfortably. There weren't many things in my satchel.
I had one book that I read often, so as not to forget my letters, a silver brooch in the shape of a rose, which was Afinil's sign, a locket which had been my mother's and my lyre. Strangely enough, everything had at least one rose on it.
My mother's locket was beautiful; it was silver and oval shaped with a single rose inscribed on it. The picture was vivid and I could see even the thorns on the rose. The only problem with the locket was that I couldn't open it. I had never worn it at Gilman's Cot for fear that they would take it away. But now, I put it on and slipped it under the bodice of my rough dress, where it slipped between my breasts and disappeared.
The book was a book of simple fairy tales and illustrated magnificently. I remembered that when I had been young, I had wanted nothing more than to paint that beautifully. Lastly, I picked up my lyre. It was made of ebony wood and on the sides were vines artfully carved into it, with roses in some places of the vines. I ran my hand over the strings, listening to the beautiful sound it made.
I was drawn out of my thoughts by footsteps coming my way. I turned to see Scipio.
"Hello Roisin," he said, his eyes finding my open satchel and the items sprawled on the grass.
"Cadvan and I are eating supper. Would you like to join us?"
I suddenly realized just how hungry I was and nodded before gathering my things back in my satchel and following Scipio back to where Cadvan was. There were only dried fruits and meats plus a tough looking biscuit, but to me it was a feast.
"What have you brought in your satchel?" asked Cadvan curiously and I opened the satchel. I handed him the fairy tale book and his mouth quirked in a smiled before he flipped through the pages.
"I've never seen a more beautifully illustrated book," he said, making me smile. "I assume you know how t read?"
"Yes," I said. "I read it often so as not to forget my letters."
He looked at the brooch curiously.
"It was my father's," I explained quietly.
"It's a strange metal," said Cadvan, examining it. "Neither silver nor iron."
When he looked at my lyre, he looked at it in surprise.
"That's strange," said Cadvan as he examined my lyre. "It's not of Dhyllic ware, but it's similarly made."
He traced one finger over the carved roses and vines before handing it back to me. Just then, Maerad began to stir.
I greeted her warmly before I picked up my lyre and went back to the bank of the rivulet, where I felt at peace at. I was surprised when Scipio sat down next to me, but I said nothing.
"Do you know how to play?" he asked, gesturing at my lyre. I nodded before glancing at him.
"Do you play?" I said and he laughed, which surprised me; I hadn't heard him laugh till now.
"I wouldn't be a Bard if I didn't," he said wryly and I flushed, knowing it was true. "I play the harp but I prefer the flute."
He drew a long wooden flute from what appeared to be an inside pocket on his cloak. He played a few notes before beginning a song that I knew well, his fingers flying over the holes on his flute.
I took my lyre and positioned myself before beginning to play. Then, I began to sing.
When Arkan deemed an endless cold
And greenwoods rotted bleak andsere
The moon wept high above the world
To see its beuty dwindling:
To earth fell down a single tear
And there stepped forth a shining girl
Like moonlight that through alabaster
Wells, its pallor kindling
It didn't matter that Scipio was there, or that Cadvan and Maerad could probably hear, because to me, it was just the music and me.
After I finished, I looked to see Scipio looking at me with his mysterious gray blue eyes.
"You have a beautiful singing voice, even among Bards," he said quietly and I blushed. My singing was something I prided myself on because even though I wasn't as good as Maerad at playing the lyre, singing was something I excelled at.
We went back to where Cadvan and Maerad where, and Maerad told me, as if in a daze, that her harp was of Dhyllic ware. I looked in surprise at Maerad's humble harp, that didn't look much more than a peasant's lyre except for the runes.
But it explained some things, such as why it had never had to be tuned or the strings replaced. Cadvan curtly said we should go back to bed and I did, curled up in a small ball with my satchel clutched against my chest.
This time, when I woke, I was not first and surprisingly, last. It was to Cadvan's cheerful greeting that I awoke.
"Good morning," Cadvan said cheerfully, bowing to Maerad while I lay on the ground, trying to find some warmth. "The mistresses of the house must forgive our fare, which, alas, is the same as last night. But wholesome, for it is all monotony. Do my ladies wish to wash first or after they break their fast?"
I had to laugh at this and slowly got up.
Maerad said, "Later, I think. It's a better breakfast than I'm used to!"
Cadvan turned to me but I merely smiled before heading to the stream where I splashed the freezing water on my face to make the sleepiness fade away. Then I went back to join the other three and ate some breakfast.
After that, we packed our stuff and Cadvan stood in front of Maerad and me. He told us that we had to leave today and that we would be reaching a place he knew that was around sixty miles away, a week's walk. I had taken this information in vaguely, but when he said he wanted to scry us, I looked up at him sharply, horrified.
"Scry me?" asked Maerad, looking confused. "What does that mean?"
"You can't be serious Cadvan," I said angrily. "Scry us? Do you really not trust us?"
I stormed back to the rivulet as Cadvan began to explain to Maerad what scrying was.
"Cadvan asked me to scry you," said a voice and I jumped. "But I'm giving you the choice to say yes or no. I won't force you, just like we won't force Maerad."
I turned to see Scipio, his face expressionless.
"Cadvan is desperate," Scipio continued. "He doesn't know if you are dark spirits come to trick him or truly what you are."
I took steadying, deep breaths before facing him.
"Alright," I said. "But keep to the facts. Delve no deeper in my memories than necessary."
He nodded and stood right in front of me, and put his hands on my shoulders. Hesitatingly, I put my hands on his shoulders.
"Empty your mind," he said softly, making me wish he hadn't said that. Because now that I tried to clear my mind, it only seemed like more thoughts popped in it, making it jumbled.
He spoke some words in the Speech, so fast and softly I didn't catch anything except my name and the word 'mind'.
I looked deep in his gray blue eyes, mesmerized. I had never seen such a shade of eyes. They were like a stormy ocean and clear sky blended together.
But I forgot all about his eyes when the dam that I had built to stop the river of my memories, broke. And then, I saw my memories flash before me. It seemed like the memories were going backwards.
At first, I saw Gilman's Cot. The hate of the other slaves, the beatings, the small moments were I could play my lyre or read a few lines of my book. I saw the time when a group of women had tried to suffocate me in my sleep and the terror I had felt. I saw all the times Gilman's men had pawed me. But it was the last memory of Gilman's Cot that made me want to close my eyes, curl into a ball and cry. It was when one of Gilman's men, Jyrt, had raped me. I let out a small whimper, and the memory was gone.
Then, I saw me. I was in a beautiful garden and wearing a long white dress of silk that touch the ground. My hair was loose and wild, with a crown of wild flowers on my head. I looked to be six years old and was holding roses in one hand and skipping gaily though the garden. Suddenly, I stopped and ran, laughing, at a person that had suddenly appeared.
"Mamma!" the little me shouted and I saw as the most beautiful woman I had ever seen picked me up and twirled me around.
Then the memory disappeared, but many more followed. Strangely, I didn't see any of my father. My mother had always told me he had died when I had been three, but I don't actually remember him. My mom had always described him and talked about him, but I didn't remember him.
At one point, I realized I was crying. Tears were running down my face though I didn't make any sounds. I had forgotten so many of the good memories and now I remembered them all over again. And then, it stopped.
I collapsed on the ground, tears still falling down my eyes. I probably should have been happy, being able relive all the happy memories, but I had also just relieved all of my worst memories.
I was suddenly aware that Scipio's arms were around me. I pulled back slightly from his embrace to look at his face. There were conflicted emotions on his face though one stood out more than any other: regret.
"I shouldn't of have scried you," he said quietly. "It is obvious you are of Afinil."
I didn't respond, as the strangest thing just happened. There was a startled yell, and Cadvan flew into the trees, as if he had been thrown.
"Cadvan!" I said and Scipio looked absolutely shocked at the sight of Cadvan. We ran up to Cadvan and helped him up.
"What happened?" asked Scipio immediately.
"I scried Maerad," he said, wincing. "I didn't finish because she suddenly yelled and I was thrown backwards."
I ran towards where Mearad and Cadvan had been before and saw Maerad hunched on the ground, crying. I fell to my knees by her side and cradled her as if she were a small child. I noticed as Cadvan kneeled beside me and gently took Maerad from me, putting his arms around her and stroking her hair as she cried into his shoulder.
Cadvan comforted her and told her what happened while I rocked back on the balls of my feet. Though I looked at Cadvan interestingly when he said that Maerad had almost scried him.
We all bowed to the trees before leaving, shouldering our packs. I was already dreading the long walk but I didn't say anything.
"Why are there only crows in the sky?" I asked Scipio as we walked. Once again, Cadvan and Maerad we're taking the lead with Scipio and me taking up the rear. I couldn't help but feel as if Maerad and I weren't as close as we use to be in Gilman's Cot, and it made me feel sad.
"My guess is that the Landrost sent messengers out that are hunting us," said Scipio thoughtfully.
As we continued, I noticed all the beautiful little blue flowers that were all over the place. Scipio swooped down and picked one before presenting it to me.
"Aëlorgalen," he said and I took the flower with a small smile.
"The dawnflower," I said softly before tucking the flower behind my ear. It reminded me of when I had been small and loved to wear flowers and flower crowns in my hair.
"Is the Landrost a man?" I asked Scipio. "Because I can't really see how a mountain can order a hunt for us."
"He is not a man, but he is a person," said Scipio, which made no sense to me. If you are a person, aren't you also a man? "The mountain is his dwelling. Cadvan and I have been imprisoned there recently but we escaped. Though we saw things that the Landrost would rather not be told."
When we stopped for a midday meal, Maerad had taken off her boot. The ankle she had sprained in the valley was swelling.
"It hurts?" Cadvan said. "Let me see."
Cadvan pressed his hand against Maerad's foot and suddenly, it wasn't swollen.
"It's gone!" Maerad said in surprise. "Are you a healer as well?"
"All Bards are healers," Cadvan said simply, making me frown. I couldn't help but wonder if I tried, could I also heal someone?
As we walked on, Maerad and Cadvan began to fight. Scipio and I shared a look.
"I'm not a child," Maerad said and Cadvan sped up. Maerad walked next to me, stubbornly silent.
The break neck speed Cadvan was setting was difficult to follow
"Can we slow down, Cadvan?" Scipio asked irritably.
"We must make it to the watchtower before sunset," was all Cadvan said.
Surprisingly, Cadvan and Maerad soon forgave each other only two hours after their fight. I knew Maerad wasn't one to hold grudges, like me. Although, there were cases were I did hold grudges, such as against Gilman's Cot.
It was nearing nightfall by the time we reached a tower that seemed intact expect for its roof, which had caved in, but it was still obvious that it was a ruin. We entered the tower which was of medium size. Cadvan threw down his pack.
"We have but little time, and we must use it well, if we are to survive the night," Cadvan said. "Fire is our hope. We need wood, quickly, before it grows dark."
Cadvan and Scipio both drew long swords and began to cut at the wood. I stared at the swords in amazement; I hadn't even touched a sword since I had been nine years old. Sword fighting was one thing my mother had been amendment about, and I had started to learn since I was five with wooden swords before progressing to metal swords at eight.
Maerad and I quickly dragged the wood into the tower while Scipio and Cadvan cut a line around the hill with a dagger, chanting in the Speech.
We lit the large pile of wood and I immediately felt comforted; the fire was like a warm home away from the cold that I despise so much. I sat close to the fire, though for some reason I felt like I could sit right in the middle of the bonfire and not be burned.
Cadvan, Scipio and Maerad were standing next to the walls and I wondered why; the fire wasn't that hot.
Cadvan beckoned me over and I reluctantly left the fire's side.
"Do you know how to fight with a knife?" he asked me and I saw that Maerad had one of the roughly made knives that Gilman's men used.
"I'm much better with a sword," I admitted. A knife just never felt…enough. Like it would fail you much quicker than a sword would. Cadvan looked surprised and I told him about my sword lessons.
"I believe that Scipio would let you use his second sword," Cadvan said, looking at me first then at Scipio. Scipio nodded before drawing another sword. It was a short sword, and not very well made, but I was pretty sure I could use it.
The sun set and we began to hear the wolfwers. Their howls sent chills up my spine and my heart beat faster. When Cadvan suggested sleep, I merely shrugged and went to lie down next to the fire.
"Isn't that a bit close?" asked Scipio from his place at the opposite wall, a bead of seat on his left temple.
"No," I said. "The fire is warm and I' am cold."
Sometimes, a flame came near me and I'd outstretch my hand to touch it. It didn't burn me, just tickle, though my fingers began to blacken with soot. I closed my eyes and must have fallen asleep because I was woken abruptly by the sound of high, thin howl. It almost sounded like a human wail.
"The wer leader is making a counterspell," said Cadvan. "We're unlucky. It's rare for a wer to know sorceries."
I sighed and sat back down next to the fire, my knees up against me chest with my arms circled around my legs.
When Cadvan said to send our minds out into the night, I gazed at him curious. I imagined myself inside my mind and pushing at my mind as hard as I could, shattering through my head and out in the dark night. I could hear everything outside, but I didn't like what I heard. It was as if there were giant bats outside, breathing coldly.
I put my head between my knees and concentrated as hard as I could on controlling my fear, taking no notice of the conversation around me. It was harder than I thought, and resorted to remembering times with my mother. Walking in a forest, picking wild flowers, singing, reading, planting…I had done so many things with my mother and tears prickled at my green eyes as an image of her dying came to me. But I shoved that into the deepest corner of my mind before concentrating once again on the happy memories.
"Roisin!" I heard Scipio yell and I leaped up immediately as I heard the flapping of wings closer than ever.
"How many wers are there?" I asked Scipio.
"Around thirty," he answered grimly. I readied my grip on my small sword and suddenly, a figure with bat like wings dropped into the tower from above. Cadvan leaped at it and chopped off its head lightning fast.
Then the tower was thick with claws and wings. I stuck close to Scipio and slashed right and left. I wasn't as good with a sword from the lack of practice for the last ten years, but I was slowly regaining the feel of it as I fought. Sometimes, in Gilman's Cot, I had practiced my sword movements with an imaginary sword and I kept that in mind as feinted and slashed.
The wers were now few, and a last one landed in front of me. It slashed at me and I felt as its claw left a horizontal gash on my cheek, under my eye. I stumbled and managed a sloppy slash at the creature and it screamed horribly. But it was too late. I was falling, falling, falling…
"Roisin!" Scipio yelled and I saw as he tried to reach me. But I fell, right in the middle of the bonfire. I had been ready to be roasted alive and painfully, but I felt nothing. In fact, I felt comfortable there, with the flames licking up to me. The only real discomfort were the branches underneath me.
I stayed there for a couple of moments. I felt like someone had wrapped a blanket around me or as if my mother was cradling me in her arms. I could see Scipio, Cadvan and Maerad looking stricken at the fire but I knew they couldn't see me, because their eyes weren't trained on me.
I decided to stand up and I did. Then, carefully so as not to fall, I walked out of the bonfire and onto the blood covered floor. All three looked at me, so surprised that I was wondering if they were okay. But it was Scipio who reacted first. He stepped up to me and wrapped his arms around me in a bone crushing hug and I was surprised to see tears shining in Maerad's eyes.
"How are you alive?" Cadvan said hoarsely and we all turned to look at him. "Not only how did you survive being in the fire for several minutes but how do you not have a scratch on you?"
I looked at my soot covered fingers. My fingers were long and bony, with my nails chipped and blackened.
"I don't know," I frowned. "I really don't know."
I saw Scipio and Cadvan exchange a look but I couldn't bring myself to care; all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep.
We dragged the corpses outside and the topic of the fire and me wasn't brought up again. We all sat down in the doorway when we finished and though I tried my hardest to stay awake, I couldn't. Slowly, my eyes closed and I leaned my head against somebody's shoulder, I couldn't tell whose. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was Cadvan saying, "Well, we made it."
"C'mon Roisin," I heard a voice say. "Wake up."
I groggily opened one green eye to see Scipio's gray blue eyes looking down at me. I realized with a sudden hot embarrassment that it was his shoulder that I had fallen asleep on.
We kept walking and I realized with a sudden viciousness that I never thought I'd be able to hate walking so much. But to tell the truth, I didn't particularly fancy a horse either. When I had been younger, it had taken several lessons for me to ride a horse, but ever since the only horse in Gilman's Cot had kicked me, resulting in a broken leg, I had refused to go near one.
We finally stopped three hours after sunrise, near a stream. When Cadvan announced that we were safe from the Landrost, I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
I washed up as best as I could in the stream, dipping my hands, face and even my long braid into the water, which ran black from ash and red from blood for a second before it disappeared with the rush of the stream.
As we ate, the topic of conversation came to what we wished we could eat instead of the rough traveling food.
"Mushrooms!" Cadvan said suddenly, with the giddiness of a ten year old boy. "Slow fried in butter. I can almost smell them!"
I wrinkled my nose. Mushrooms were something I refused to eat, ever since a small child. I didn't like fungus, though mom had always said my father had been fond of mushrooms.
Scipio offered me a bottle full of a clear liquid that had a golden tint to it.
"Medhyl," he said to my questioningly look. I drank a couple of sips before handing it back to Scipio, some of my tiredness fading.
As we began to walk again, dark clouds covered the sky and lightning began to flash through the sky. Scipio pointed out a scarcely visible hole above a ridge, about twenty feet above. Cadvan nodded in approval and we all scrabbled up to it. I made sure not to look down; I was terrified of heights.
After Cadvan and checked the cave and deemed it safe, we went inside. There were bones on one side of the cave and the thought that something not only lived here, but something carnivorous, was not a comforting thought. A clap of thunder resounded through the sky and rain began to fall hard and furiously.
Surprisingly, Maerad volunteered to keep watch and even more surprisingly, Cadvan agreed. I went into a little crevice in a corner and curled up as tightly as I could to try to gain some warmth, as my thin cloak wasn't of any use and Cadvan only had one blanket, which no matter Maerad's protests, I forced her to use. She wasn't getting sick on my account.
I had trouble sleeping. I remembered the fight with the wers and I felt so…cold. I couldn't bring myself to feel bad about their deaths, making me feel inhuman and cruel.
At last, I fell into a troubled sleep, where claws and bat wings assaulted me and in the middle of it all was the largest bonfire I had ever seen. In the middle of the bonfire stood a woman. Her long orange gold hair reached her knees and was curly, and her dress made of orange, gold and red. She turned her golden eyes to me and I gulped. She was my mother.
My mother opened her mouth and said in a whisper, "Where are you Roisin? Help me find you."
I wanted to responded but the words were stuck in my throat. I tried to get closer to her but I couldn't move. All I could do was stare helplessly as my mother beckoned me and danced with the flames.
I was woken up by something wet sniffing me. My eyes flew open and I saw a mountain lion leaning over me and sniffing me. I was frozen and I tried my hardest to stop the racing of my heart. Animals could smell fear.
After awhile, the beast retreated and went back to where Cadvan was and spoke to him, saying I wouldn't make much of a meal and that we could rest assured that he wouldn't eat us.
"Well done," whispered a voice and I emitted a squeak before turning to see Scipio, amusement clear in his gray blue eyes. His brown hair was ruffled from sleep. "You didn't so much as scream when you opened your eyes to see a mountain lion sniffing you."
But our attention was diverted as Maerad and Cadvan began bickering again, this time about speaking to beasts and how Maerad thought this to be 'witchspeak'.
"Let's look at that wer scratch on your cheek while those two sort out their problems," Scipio said with a roll of his eyes at Maerad and Cadvan.
Scipio traced the cut with his fingers and I took the chance to examine him. His brown hair was almost chin length and he had a fine cheek bone structure. His skin seemed to be sun kissed, which suggested many days out in the sun, though I also suspected a fine layer of dirt covering his skin. His eyes were that gray blue that made you think of a thunderstorm and he had long lashes. He was, without doubt, handsome. It wasn't a matter of opinion, but a fact. No doubt he had a lover in Innail.
"No poison," Scipio said before pressing his hand gently over my cut and some pain lifted. "I don't think you'll have a scar."
Then he spread some sweet smelling balm over the cut.
I fell asleep again, praying I would dream of my mother. I wanted to see her again so badly, for her to stroke back my hair and tell me everything was alright. But my sleep was dreamless, and I didn't see my mother. But I was woken rather badly.
"Come on Roisin," said a voice. "You have to wake up. Keep your eyes open!"
I didn't want to wake up…I wanted to sleep forever.
"Damn it Roisin," the voice swore and I felt myself being lifted from the floor and onto something or somebody soft. I felt as somebody wrapped a blanket or cloak over me and I realized that I was shaking.
"What's wrong with her Scipio?" I heard Cadvan say sharply.
"She won't open her eyes, her lips are blue, she's shaking and her skin is colder than death," said the person who was holding me. I think its Scipio.
"She's never been this bad before," said a fearful voice that I knew belonged to Maerad.
"What do you mean?"
"Roisin is affected by the cold in a way nobody else is affected," said Maerad. "She gets deadly colds every year but she always pulls out of them."
"Open you're eyes, Roisin," whispered a voice, but it wasn't Cadvan's, Scipio's or Maerad's. It was a female voice. "Your locket, Roisin."
I felt the sudden urge to hold my locket and moved my hand sluggishly to the chain, taking out the locket from under my dress, and holding it tightly in my hand. A warmth was emitting from the locket and slowly, I felt myself feeling everything around me. Blearily, I opened my eyes.
"Scipio?" I asked, my voice hoarse and a pair of worried gray blue eyes met mine.
"Roisin," he said with relief before calling Cadvan and Maerad.
"Roisin!" cried Maerad and she threw her arms around my neck and I could see just how scared she was for me. I turned to see Scipio scowling at me, which surprised me.
"What?" I asked him.
"You're going to give me a heart attack one day," he said. "First falling into a bonfire and being perfectly alright, and now almost freezing to death."
I smiled wanly at him and his expression softened.
"Breakfast?" Cadvan asked and I laughed before accepting the hard biscuit he handed to me. The mountain lion appeared soon and we followed him as he led us up the mountain. I wrapped Scipio's cloak tighter around me the higher we got and stuck as close to the mountain side as I could, the drop scaring me more than I could even bear.
It was tiring work to climb, and something I wasn't very good at but I kept putting one foot in front of the other. When we reached a tunnel, I hesitated. The dark looked so suffocating. I watched as the lion, Maerad and Cadvan disappeared into the tunnel.
"Roisin," said Scipio and he held out his hand. I took it and he led me into the tunnel.
We kept close to Cadvan and Maerad, for fear that we would get lost even if the tunnel went straight. I started to notice that tunnels branched from the main tunnel we were traveling in and I began to wonder who had lived here.
I don't how long we were in the tunnel. Time was impossible to tell and in my spare time I began to create in my mind the civilization that had once lived here. They must of have been very smart to have made this tunnel so straight without the whole mountain collapsing on their heads but how could they stand being underground so long, without any sunlight?
I started to notice something strange. The longer I was in the tunnel, the weaker I felt. I stopped eating. I barely drank and my sleep was haunted by nightmares. Hacking coughs shook my body and I felt frail, as if a single tap would be enough to break me. I knew the other three were worried about me and I hated myself for worrying them. I felt like I was going to die in the tunnel, in the dark, the one thing I loathed above all else, even Gilman's Cot.
When I started to see light in the distance, at first I thought I was hallucinating. Then, when it wouldn't go away, I was positive that I was dying, and that the light signaled the Gates. I turned to where I guessed Scipio was and yelped. I could see Scipio. He turned and his eyes widened considerably. I wondered it if was because he could see me or if it was because I looked that bad.
I nearly ran towards what a now knew was sunlight, reaching it before even the lion. Once there, I lifted my face to the sun and let it warm me.
"Roisin," said Maerad joyfully and I looked at her with a smile of pure delight. I looked at my hands and arms to see my skin looked waxy and unhealthy, as if I were wasting away.
I hugged Maerad hard.
"Behold the beauty of Annar!" said Cadvan, gesturing at the green fields and setting sun. "I thought I would not see it again."
We bowed lowly to the lion who bowed back before walking back into the tunnel and disappearing into the darkness. Cadvan seemed so excited that it was amusing to look at him but Scipio outshone Cadvan's excitement.
"We are near Innail!" Scipio said gleefully. "My School."
"I couldn't go through that tunnel again, not if all the wers of the Landrost were after me!"
When Cadvan told her she would, I knew that maybe Maerad could, but I couldn't. I would much rather die than go through the tunnel again. We started the descent down the mountain and after ten feet I couldn't even see the tunnel, something I was glad for. I never wanted to see it again.
At one point in our descent, I slipped. I shrieked and grabbed the person nearest me, who was Maerad. We both slid down a good twenty feet down a rocky slope and landed in a tangled heap at the bottom.
As Cadvan and Scipio slipped down after us, I couldn't help but giggle from underneath Maerad and shoved her foot from my head. Cadvan helped me up before brushing himself off.
I couldn't be happier when Cadvan said we were an hour's fast walk from Innail. The night didn't bother me tonight, because it wasn't the complete darkness that the tunnel was. The sky was dark blue and stars shone, a full moon shining brightly.
The frailness left me with the tiredness I had been feeling in the tunnel, I no longer coughed and felt more alive now than I had in the days we had been in the tunnel. Slowly, my skin color changed from the waxy color it had been back to my usual pale color, which although wasn't altogether healthy looking, it was much better than the waxy yellow.
Everybody grew eager as Innail came into view, and none more than Scipio, who was practically skipping along. Maerad seemed strangely reluctant and though I couldn't see why, I didn't ask her.
We finally arrived at the tall gates and Cadvan cupped his hands and shouted in the Speech.
"Open! Open the gates!"
A man looked at us from above and he shouted to us, also in the Speech, "Open? Who are you?"
"Cadvan of Lirigon, Scipio of Innail, Roisin of Afinil and Maerad of Pellinor," Cadvan shouted and I felt sorry for Maerad, who couldn't understand anything that was being said.
"Wait," the man said simply in the Speech before disappearing. Five minutes later the shutter opened again but this time it was a different man.
"Cadvan? Is that you?" the man said, using Annaren instead of the Speech.
"The same," Cadvan said, a lightness I had never heard in his voice. "Traveling on hard roads, by dark ways, and begging for succor from the Bards of Innail, by the old lay of courtesy."
"What are you and Scipio doing in this part of the world?"
"Malgorn!" Cadvan threw his head back and shouted. "Come down and let us in!"
"And who of Pellinor and Afinil? I thought everybody from Pellinor was dead and Afinil fell more than nine centuries ago! By the Light" But wait, I'll get the gate."
"Malgorn use to be one my teachers here," Scipio told me and I nodded. The gate was flung open and a solidly built man hugged both Scipio and Cadvan before inspecting them. I was too tired to listen to their conversation until I heard my name.
"This is Roisin of Afinil and Maerad of Pellinor, our fellow travelers," Cadvan introduced. "Roisin, Maerad, this is my old friend Malgorn, a rogue and a scoundrel, and the worst card player in the Seven Kingdoms. Bu he had his good points."
Malgorn bowed first to Maerad and told her something before taking my hand. He bowed to me.
"A pleasure to meet you, Roisin of Afinil," he said. "Unfortunately, I was not alive to see the beauty of Afinil." He inspected me. "Nor you, it would seem, for your age."
We were hurried into a house which I assumed was his.
"Silvia! Silvia! We have guests!" he shouted but I shrieked as Maerad's eyes rolled into her head and she sunk to the floor in a dead faint. Cadvan and I caught her before she could hit the floor and carried her onto a chair. I fanned her face with my hand, for the sake of doing something.
A woman came in, whom I guessed was Silvia. She was beautiful, but I couldn't help but think that my mother was more beautiful. She started when she saw Maerad and hurried through a door before emerging with a bottle and some glasses.
"Drink this," she said, pouring some golden liquid into the glass. I carefully took it, relishing the feel of the cool glass. I hadn't held a glass since I was nine. I sipped it before downing it one and she poured me another cup, which I also drank.
"I'm Silvia," the woman said and I smiled meekly at her. Then Silvia disappeared through a doorway. Maerad then woke up and Cadvan made her drink the golden liquid, which I found out was called laradhel. Scipio was sitting and sipping his own liquor.
"What have you been doing to this child, Cadvan? She's as white as a ghost! Where did you find her?" Malgorn said, inspecting Maerad before his eyes turned to me, making me feel self conscious. "And this woman doesn't look very healthy either and she's even thinner than Maerad!"
I couldn't help but feel pleased that I was referred to as a woman instead of a child, like Maerad.
"I'm not a child," Maerad said, somewhat sulkily. "I mean, I'm sixteen summers old!" Then she blushed and looked down, making me grin. I'm pretty positive she felt alright now.
"She's certainly not a child," Cadvan said with a grin. "She faced thirty wers with only a stick in her hand. But I can't blame her for fainting when she met you!" I giggled a bit at this as Scipio and Malgorn threw their heads back and laughed.
Silvia then came in with a tray and introduced herself to Maerad.
"Come girls, let's leave these three to their own devices," Silvia said with good humor. "We'll get you cleaned up. And some food in you! And you're both so thin, especially you Roisin dear. Has Cadvan been starving you?"
"Why is everyone blaming me?" asked Cadvan as Scipio snorted into his glass. "And where is the sympathy for my thinness?"
"Sympathy? For you?" Silvia said. "You've been eating their rations, for sure. I've never seen such sticks! Now Malgorn show these poor men to their room."
Silvia led Maerad and me out into a long hallway. Now that I thought of it, I did want a bath. A real, hot bath, not just a dip in a stream or a cold washing from the well.
"Would you like to bathe with Maerad or on your own?" Silvia asked me and I considered it.
"I think I'd like to be on my own," I said quietly. "I need to gather my thoughts."
Silvia nodded in understanding and led me into a room with a steaming bath before she disappeared with Maerad. I closed the door and looked around me.
Then, I took off my dress, which was dirty and stiff with grime and blood. I stepped into the bath and for several minutes just lay there. I took my hair out of my braid and let my waist length hair float in the water around me.
After that, I found many different soaps of different scents which I smelled. I picked one that smelt of ripe strawberries, something that I had loved when I had been a child. After washing my body and my hair I got out of the now filthy water and donned a warm robe that was set out. I found a comb and for the first time in what felt like ages, I was able to untangle every single knot in my hair.
As a child, I had loathed to brush my hair. I much preferred to let it grow wild, curly and uncontrollable, with flower and vines in it. Now, I patiently unknotted my hair until I was done, which took awhile because of my long hair.
The door opened and in stepped a little girl, who looked to be seven years old. Her hair was light brown and wavy, a little longer than chest length, but it was her eyes that startled me. They were a deep violet, with long and thick lashes framing them.
"Hello," she said. "Silvia sent me to show you your room while she helps Maerad. I'm Azalea."
"Hello Azalea, I'm Roisin," I said warmly and she took my hand and led me down the hallway and up a flight of stairs. She seemed to know her way well as she took my hand chattered away, making me smile. I had a soft spot for children.
We went through a door to a bedchamber. A fire flickered in a grate and there was a large window with a window seat and a canopy bed. My satchel lay on the bed, next to a robe somebody had picked out.
"Lady Silvia said you should wear this," Azalea said and she pointed to the robe that lay on the bed. It was pure white and had golden embroidery on the sleeves, hem and lining the part where it buttoned up in the front. Azalea skipped gaily over to the wardrobe and gave her woolen underclothes, which I quickly donned.
Then I slipped the robe on and Azalea insisted on doing up my buttons.
"You don't have to call me Lady Roisin, Azalea," I told her. "Just call me Roisin."
"But you're as pretty as a lady," Azalea said with wide eyes full of innocence and I looked down. I wasn't pretty. I was just…me.
Azalea led me to a mirror and I looked at myself. I hadn't looked in a mirror since I was nine, and at that time I hadn't cared for mirrors or looks. My golden orange hair was loose and curly, my skin glowingly pale though my cheeks were rosy from laughing with Azalea.
"Come on," Azalea said happily and she took my hand again, her own warm and trusting. "Lady Silvia has asked me to lead you to the dining room."
As they walked to the dining room, I learned some things about Azalea. She wasn't seven summers old, as I had calculated, but six summers old. She was also an orphan, as her parents had abandoned her when they found out she had the Speech, which left me seething with rage. How could anybody leave such a sweet child alone?
"Here you go," Azalea said as we reached a set of doors.
"Aren't you coming in with me?" I asked her and she cocked her head to a side, her wavy brown hair tumbling over her shoulders and violet eyes wide.
"I've already eaten supper," she told me. "I have to go to bed."
"I hope I see you tomorrow," I told her warmly. Azalea had found a place in my heart already. Azalea's violet eyes widened in delight and she nodded vigorously.
"Okay," she said before skipping off, singing a tune under her breath.
I breathed deeply before entering. All of them were already seated and they all looked up as entered. All five of them looked surprisingly at me, even Maerad whom had never seen my hair loose.
"Sorry to be late," I said uncomfortably.
"That's quite alright dear," Silvia said and she got up and led me to the seat next to Scipio's, where I sat down.
Scipio smiled at me as I sat down and I smiled back nervously. Scipio then began to load my plate generously but didn't put as much as Cadvan and he had.
"If you eat too much, you'll be sick," he told me. I started to eat and the food was simply delicious. I hadn't tasted anything so good in ten solid years of gray porridge. There was also a pale wine that ran lightly up my tongue.
Maerad tried the mushrooms and enjoyed them, though not as much as Cadvan as he heaped fifth helpings of mushrooms on his plate.
"What about you, Roisin?" asked Cadvan, looking at me from across the table. "Mushrooms?"
I wrinkled my nose, making Scipio snigger.
"If there is one food I do not like above all, it is mushrooms," I told him, silently adding in my mind and peppers. But I didn't want to seem like a picky and spoiled child.
After that, we settled by the fire with sweets and cherry cordial. I didn't say anything but was alert to the conversation. There was to be a Meet and Bards from all over northern Annar School were here. Apparently, some Schools were corrupt and dark goings were in Annar.
Then the conversation turned to Maerad's background and of Pellinor. Then, Silvia turned to me.
"Of Afinil?" she said softly. "How is that possible? Afinil fell more than nine centuries ago!"
I was acutely aware of everybody's eyes on me.
"My mother had unnaturally long life, though she wasn't a Bard," I said, looking into my glass of cherry cordial. "Some even said she was immortal. My mother told me my father died when I was three summers old and that he was a Bard of Afinil. But now that I think of it, it doesn't make sense. My father was an ordinary Bard with only the life length of three human lives, not nine. And I don't have any memories of him either."
I shook my head. "I was instated as a Minor Bard of Afinil in Norloch, because of my parentage."
"Well, you both have the Gift, that's obviously clear," said Malgorn and Cadvan looked up.
"And some Gifts they are!" Cadvan said and recounted the tale of the Landrost.
When Malgorn looked dubious and said if it wasn't a neat coincidence Cadvan said that he had no doubt of who we were and how he had scried Maerad and Scipio had scried me.
While they debated this, I slowly got up and put my empty glass of cordial on the table.
"I think," I said. "I will go to bed. I feel like I will pass out any minute."
They all looked at me.
"That would be a good idea," Cadvan cleared his throat. "You went through a horrible ordeal in the tunnel."
I nodded before gliding out of the room. I remembered the way back to my bedchamber and I as entered it, I put on the silky white nightgown before getting into the soft covers.
I was practically asleep before my head hit the pillow.
That is the longest chapter that I have ever written. This is what I get for being bored one Sunday afternoon. Review!