Chapter 19

The rest of the night passed fitfully for me. Upon waking to Dornell’s hands shaking me – having only just managed to close my eyes, it seemed – the stressful ambiguity of last night fell upon me like a mess of bodies. I probably screeched at my friend to shut up and let me go back to sleep, only to draw worried gazes from the rest of my bunk mates, but the whole waking part remains a little hazy for me.

Put simply: it really sucked, and I felt like throwing up.

“What happened??” Ellie demanded after I’d gotten my feet upon the floor again. Groggy, I stumbled over to the dresser and went about grabbing random articles of clothing.

“Bad dreams, I suppose” replied Dornell. He also sounded concerned. “Please tell us, V?”

“Oh boy! Well last night…” I began, then for some reason I stopped. Why had maiden Threwon made it sound so very secretive? I hardly trusted my own brain at the moment, but I remembered enough key parts to figure out what my next move was.

“Today, during lunch… I just have a thing to do. It’ll be quick, I promise, so will you cover for me? I’ll fill you in after I’m back.”

The two of them looked at one another worriedly. I saw Ellodie tighten her hands, but in the end, they only nodded. “Veille? Just don’t do anything stupid, alright? Be safe.”

I assured them that I would, and began putting all of my clothes on backwards. This probably didn’t help to reassure them.

After breakfast, each of us headed out into the Hall for lessons and exercises. Ellie and Torvis were once again whisked away to perfect their cooking and cleaning duties; in a moment of supreme grumpiness I wondered who would even want a man like Torvis to perform cooking for them. Sure, Torvis was a treat to look at – we all were – but his attitude left something to be desired. I then berated myself for thinking that about any of my companions, no matter how obnoxious I found them to be.

Perhaps through some sort of cosmic karma, my task for the day was to instruct a few of the others in their dances, as some of the maidens thought their movements needed work. As the second-best dancer in the troupe, this honor fell to me, and I immediately felt like hitting myself over the head just to escape it.

As it turns out, being past the realm of anxiety and utterly deprived of sleep isn’t the best mental state to work with when your job is helping friends do better at anything.

“LEGS. HIGHER. Mylannes!” I snapped for the second time. I rounded on O’mally next. “You too, you too! Oh, and Norn, if I see that pinky sticking out one more Fae-fucking time, I swear I’ll chomp it off!!”

Norn began to cry. O’mally also looked near to it.

“What is wrong with you today?!” Mylannes shouted. “I’d expect this from Torvis or Syrieze, maybe, but not you, Veille!!”

Normally the shyest of the bunch, Mylannes outburst was exactly what I needed.

“I… Oh! Shit, guys, I’m… I’m sorry. Look, I’m feeling like hell today; last night was the worst I’ve had in… in a while. I’m sorry. Hey, I have an idea!”

I clapped my hands together. “For the rest of this lesson, just ignore everything I say. I mean it. You’re all incredible dancers already, and with any luck, we won’t…”

Three sets of eyes on me warned me to keep my voice down. “... Uhh, we won’t have to do this for much longer. Alright?”

Mylannes studied me. Immediately her anger faded, to be replaced by compassion. “Do you need a hug?”

I reflexively started denying it, but my face must have been showing a different truth, because without any hesitation she swept over and wrapped me up in her skinny arms.

She only came up to my chest, so it felt more like being comforted by a puppy than by a little sister – but before long my tears started running, too. We were then joined by Norn and O’mally, until all four of us stood trembling in a wet, warm embrace.

Lunch couldn’t possibly come fast enough. At this rate I was going to burst with anxiety and anticipation.

Eventually, however, a break was called, and the telltale instructions were being relayed. Our group headed back to the bunk room to tidy up a bit – a small adjacent chamber held toiletries fit for bathing, albeit one at a time, but rarely did anyone use it so early – before heading out again to the dining room.

Like always, food had been prepared for us. It was never bad; but it was never anything special, either. I’d had treats that tasted much better back in the children’s Ward, so I knew that better food was possible to achieve if anyone decided to bestow it upon us. Not only that, but the scents and aromas wafting periodically into the Hall by whatever Ellie and Torvis were practicing making practically made my mouth water. It wasn’t fair, I realized, when it occurred to me that they probably never got to taste the delicious food they’d been taught to cook.

It also hit me with a pang that neither one would be present with us for lunch. Torvis I could do without – but I desperately wanted Ellie available to confide in her whatever Threwon decided to reveal to me.

We were handed our plates, and took our seats. I looked around at the others, feeling a little guilty, until my eyes landed on Dornell, who nodded with understanding.

I forced myself to eat a mouthful of mashed potatoes, figuring it would help me process whatever was coming. Then I stood up from my seat, muttered something about the bathroom, and without another word I eased out the door of the chamber.

Maiden Threwon was indeed there waiting for me.

And she wasn’t alone.