StarWind led the boys away and Lyra stepped into the room. The room was large and had stuffed chairs and a writing table in the center. A very large bed adorned one wall and a sofa on another. A fireplace lay dormant with a fresh stack of firewood next to it. A hanging closet and dresser completed the fixtures and Lyra looked around in wonderment. Instead of the cell she had expected, she was being housed in the palace guest quarters. Of course StarWind had told her that they did not bring prisoners into the stronghold, but still she had not expected to be housed in splendor.
Giving in to the exhaustion of the trip, she decided upon a short nap before exploring further and sank into the softness of the great bed and was asleep in moments.
Chapter 14
RavenWing
Lyra awoke in the darkness. She rolled over in the softness of the bed and sat up wishing for some light. She momentarily thought about calling for the fire lighting spell and quickly dismissed it, remembering the pain of her hand when the fireball spell backfired. She remembered seeing a candle on the small table next to the bed and groped around for it. Grabbing hold of the candle she continued to probe for a striker, but the table was bare. She rose and cautiously padded over to the fireplace and ran her hand along the mantle. She found a striker and lit the candle, taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the new light. She placed the candle on the dresser and walked to the small window and leaned out. The freshness of the cold air invigorated her and she gazed up at the stars to gauge the hour. Still several hours to dawn she calculated and turned her attention to the city below. The streets were quiet, but there were still some people moving about. Here and there an occasional light shone from a window.
Lyra pulled her head in and returned to the dresser. She had meant only to take a nap, but she had slept for some time. She reached down and snared the water pitcher and filled the washbowl. A small cake of soap sat upon a silver dish next to the bowl and Lyra shed her traveling clothes. Her skin pricked with bumps as she submerged her hands in the icy cold water. Again she wished to invoke her magic to warm the water, but was afraid to. She wondered if she would ever perform magic again after the fiasco at the stream. She returned to the fireplace and built a small fire and placed the washbowl on the hearth. She decided to lay out her clothes for tomorrow while she waited for the fire to take the chill off the washing water. She rummaged through her packs for something suitable to meet the leader of the Sakovan people and came up disappointed. Feeling the chill of the night air sweeping over her naked body, she wished she had waited for the water to warm before disrobing. She dragged her packs over to the fireplace and sat down before the flames.
The fire warmed her and she continued to search for presentable clothes, but everything she owned was dirty and crumpled. She pulled the clothes out and spread them on the floor, thinking that she might wash some of them out and be able to dry them by morning. She stuck her finger in the washbowl and felt the water. It was not warm, but it no longer chilled her to feel it. She slipped her mother’s ring off and shoved her hands into the cool water. She stared at the mark upon her finger and how the candlelight caught it and sent rivers of blue color cascading through the washbowl. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she quickly washed up in front of the fireplace. She sat before the fire for a time letting the warmth roll over her body and dry it. As she sat her eyes examined the room in the dim light. She wondered whom the room was designed for. StarCity should have no ambassadors coming to it nor did it appear as if the Sakovans had any formal court, at least none that she had seen. The palace had seemed deserted.
Her eyes stopped on the hanging closet and she thought she could hang her clothes in there so they would not appear so crumpled. She rose and made her way to the closet and opened it. Inside the closet was an array of feminine garments and she pawed through them. Without thinking, she cast her fire lighting spell and held the tiny flame aloft so she could see well. There were dresses and skirts, pants and robes. She pulled a few items out and held them up to her body with her free hand. Most appeared a little large, but not too large as to be noticeable. She returned to the dresser and pulled open the drawers. The dresser was loaded with clothes. Neatly folded shirts and towels, socks and leggings, even some cloth hats and gloves inhabited the drawers. Lyra smiled, extinguished her spell, and pulled out a sleeping gown and tugged it on over her head. Leaving her packs strewn across the floor, Lyra pulled back the covers on the bed and slid in. Within moments the warmth of the covers radiated through her body and she drifted off to sleep.
A pounding on the door awakened Lyra and her eyes snapped open to a light filled room. She gazed at the packs strew across the floor and her eyes rested upon her mother’s ring on the hearth. She quickly leaped out of bed and snatched the ring, sliding it onto her finger before answering the summons from the door. When she answered the knocking with a shout, the door swung open and StarWind entered.
“I trust you found the quarters comfortable,” StarWind smiled as she eyed the packs strew across the floor.
“Indeed I did,” Lyra returned the smile. “Who were these rooms set up for? I mean I wouldn’t think that Sakova had any ambassadors.”
“Not ambassadors,” StarWind answered. “We have some people who live in Omunga and they come to StarCity only occasionally. We have rooms furnished for when they come as they stay in the palace when they are here.”
“Oh,” Lyra responded sheepishly, “I hope she doesn’t mind me using her nightgown. I needed to wash up and I found nothing suitable to wear.”
“She won’t mind,” StarWind frowned. “She was killed three months ago by the Omungans. She won’t be coming home again. She was close to your size and you will find some clothes in the hanging closet. Feel free to choose something appropriate to wear. We will have breakfast as soon as you are ready and then meet with the leader. I will wait outside for you.”
“No wait,” Lyra said abruptly. “Please stay. I will not be but a moment.”
StarWind nodded and closed the door. She sat in one of the stuffed chairs and stared out the window.
Lyra opened the hanging closet and chose a plain blue dress. “Did you know her well?” Lyra asked as she made her way to the dresser.
StarWind nodded and then said, “Yes, I knew her well. I know all of them well. Each and every empty room in this palace haunts me.”
Lyra cringed as she heard the loss in StarWind’s words. She wondered what it was like to have your friends dying left and right everyday. She suddenly realized how sheltered a life she had led. These Sakovans were at war with Omunga, had been at war ever since there was an Omunga and most of her countrymen had no idea the conflict existed. She felt a tinge of shame as she realized that StarWind had many such losses in her life and yet Lyra had pounded on her because StarWind hadn’t seemed to care enough about possible innocent casualties while clearing the Sakova. How foolish and self-centered she must appear to the Sakovans who live with death continually.
“I cannot imagine the inner strength you must have to accept these losses and continue on,” Lyra said. “I think there are many things about Sakova that I do not understand.”
“You should not be expected to know about us,” StarWind replied. “In fact, I wish you knew nothing about us. I wish you had not come here.”
“I wish that as well,” sighed Lyra sensing that the Sakovan already knew what Lyra’s fate was to be and didn’t like it. “StarWind, I want you to know that I hold no hatred for you or your people. We were wrong to enter the Sakova. It is not your fault, but mine. I do wish though that somehow Syman and Antello could be spared. Their only crime is in trying to help me reach my uncle. I feel bad that I got them involved.”