The Awakening (12 page)

Before she could take in any more Neira led her to the bed. “Sleep now. You can get a good look at everything when your mind is sharp once again.”

The maid helped Jahrra out of her shoes and drew the shades on the windows. Jahrra barely remembered murmuring a word of thanks as the door clicked shut then, lost in the bliss of a soft mattress and an even softer pillow, she was asleep.

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Chapter Seven
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The City of Light

It felt like moments later when Jahrra woke. She blamed it on the strong hunger pangs in her stomach but before she could do anything to remedy the feeling, she had to lie there for several moments, her eyes blinking against the dark. She felt comfortable, too comfortable, and it took her a very long time to remember what had happened the day before.

Sitting up and stretching, she climbed down from the tall bed, slightly stiff and feeling ruffled from sleeping in her clothes. She felt her way to the drapes and threw them open. The light was weaker than before but when she peered through one of the glass panes she caught a glimpse of the ocean in the near distance. Reaching for the latch, she pulled the window open and drew in a deep breath. The window let out onto a tiny semi-circular patio that faced west. The view was spectacular: the great bay stretching beyond the tops of the trees, the hills guarding the western entrance to the inlet looking black in the light of the setting sun.

The growing chill of the encroaching night finally convinced Jahrra to close the windows and latch them shut but she refused to draw the drapes. With such a view she couldn’t imagine herself wanting to do that ever again.

Sighing and ignoring her growing hunger, she glanced around the darkening room. She wanted to take a few minutes to familiarize herself with her surroundings before seeking out the housemaid or her guardian. She made her way over to the desk and smiled when she found a candle and some matches. After lighting the candle she managed to locate a few more lanterns spread throughout the room. Using her candle, she lit the lanterns one after the other, wrapping the room in a cocoon of soft light.

Once she could see properly, Jahrra decided to examine the desk first. It had a spacious top, several drawers and a chair to match. Two narrow bookshelves stood on either end of the desk while another ran horizontally to rest on top of the other two. A map drawn out on paper or animal hide was tacked to the wall in the space between the shelves. Jahrra felt her eyes prick a little when she realized it was a detailed drawing of Oescienne. She turned in the chair she had unknowingly sat upon and looked back at the tapestries of Felldreim and Ethoes on the opposite wall. That is when she noticed there were others.

She stood, taking her candle with her and wandered about the room, looking at each woven work of art in turn. There were the two maps she had noticed before her long nap and a larger one depicting dragons in an aerial battle; an epic scene with plenty of mythical creatures bordered by a twining design of blood roses. But it was the last tapestry that made her nearly drop her candle in shock. It was wider than it was tall and it took up the largest wall space, the space between her bedroom door and the place where the small closet stood.

If her emotions hadn’t been moved before by the map of Oescienne, this tapestry would have no doubt done the job. Clasping a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with unshed tears, Jahrra held the candle up to the wall-hanging and closely examined every detail. It was so realistic that she felt as if she were standing in the very place it depicted. It was the view of Oescienne, her Oescienne, from the Castle Guard Ruin.

The time depicted in the tapestry was somewhere between noon and approaching sunset, the shadows beginning to grow long and the dunes taking on a more golden hue. The ocean was as blue as ever and the fields were patches of green and purple. Lake Ossar stood out as a gleaming pool in the upper left hand corner and the outskirts of Aldehren appeared as stone and wood structures tucked behind a hill. The Aldehren River twined and curved like a cerulean snake, making its way to the sea.

Jahrra placed her hand against her forehead and sighed. This was the closest thing to being back home she could ever imagine and she wasn’t sure if she would ever want to leave this room again. Feeling suddenly weary, she made her way over to the desk and dragged the matching chair across the room, centering it between the four poster bed and the tapestry. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, taking in all the details of the wall-hanging, but at some point in time someone knocked on her door. Jahrra barely heard it.

“Yes?” she asked faintly, not taking her eyes from the wall.

“Miss Jahrra? It’s me, Neira. May I come in?”

Jahrra made a sound of consent and the next thing she knew the maid was standing next to her.

“Is anything amiss?” she queried, placing a hand on the back of Jahrra’s chair and looking around the room warily.

Jahrra turned and blinked, taking in the woman behind her for the first time. Her eyes were nearly the same shade of brown as her hair, but they were kind, wise eyes. She had several years on Jahrra but she wasn’t so much older that she could be considered middle aged. Jahrra guessed she was Resai but she could just as easily be Nesnan. The way she had her hair pulled back in a bun covered the tips of her ears.

“No,” Jahrra finally breathed, returning her gaze to the tapestry. “Nothing is amiss at all.”

Neira considered what Jahrra was staring at. “You like this tapestry?”

Jahrra nodded numbly.

The housekeeper smiled but Jahrra didn’t notice it.

“It’s a lovely view. I wonder,” but Neira never finished what she was about to say. Jaax’s voice called from below, demanding to know where everybody was.

“Oh, I almost forgot why I came up here! To fetch you down to dinner. Are you hungry?”

Jahrra felt her stomach rumble and finally her obsession with the tapestry seemed to dissipate. She nodded and stood up from the chair, following the housekeeper out into the hall. It was twilight now and all was growing dark outside on the terrace. Someone had lit the lanterns that hung on the wall, their yellow glow forming globes of light all down the right side of the upper hallway.

The lanterns continued on along the wall, descending with the stairs, and when Neira led Jahrra through the large arch and into the main entrance room a wall of warmth, light and scent hit her. Jahrra blinked at the blazing fire and the multitude of lamps that decked the tall walls. A table large enough to seat four or more stood off to one side and upon it waited several trays and dishes that steamed and gave off the wonderful aromas she had detected when first entering this space.

Jaax stood there as well, slightly in front of the fire with one foot on a raised portion of the floor that sat in front of the tall window. He arched an eyebrow upon seeing Jahrra and cleared his throat.

“Well rested I take it?” he asked.

Jahrra simply nodded, allowing Neira to direct her to the table.

“I found her sitting in her desk chair fifteen feet away from that tapestry, the large one, staring at it as if it were speaking to her.”

Neira clucked her tongue and shook her head, patting Jahrra’s hair with the affection of an older sister. Jahrra felt slightly annoyed. She wasn’t some wayward child that was claiming to have seen gnomes pattering about her room, but she was still too overwhelmed to protest. Besides, it was nice knowing that Neira had taken a liking to her.

Jaax allowed both eyebrows to rise this time and Jahrra was relieved not to see a single trace of mockery in his look.

“Is that so?” he finally said.

Neira nodded profusely once again. “Aye. Could it be spelled, do you think?”

“No,” Jaax answered as he pulled his full weight up onto the small shelf below the window. “It’s merely a scene that would have some meaning to Jahrra.”

He settled himself then shot Neira a look as she opened her mouth to say something else.

“Thank you, Neira, you may retire for the evening.”

Whatever she was about to say, or ask, was never voiced. The housekeeper merely nodded once then sketched a neat curtsey and smiled at Jahrra before bustling away through the small door that led into the kitchen.

Several moments of silence passed between Jahrra and her guardian before Jahrra finally decided to ask Jaax about the tapestry. It was too fine a thing to have been wrought easily and it was too detailed to have been made by an artist who had never visited the Castle Guard Ruin. Someone familiar with Oescienne had to have either made it or had to have been present during the making of it in order to get all the details right.

Jahrra reached for a warm loaf of bread, pulling off a steaming chunk and placing it atop a plate. She cleared her throat and kept her eyes on the table.

“The tapestry,” she finally managed, barely getting the words out, “the one of Oescienne. Did you . . .?”

“Commission an artist to create it?” Jaax responded immediately, as if he’d been waiting for her question. “Yes.”

Jahrra felt her mouth go dry. If Jaax had any idea of how much that scene meant to her, to see it hanging on the wall as if it were a window into her home.

“How?” was all she could muster. Tapestries weren’t simple rugs to be woven in a week’s time.

Jaax lifted a large goblet between his clawed fingers and took a drink. After some time, he set the goblet back down and grinned. “It’s amazing how quickly the elves can produce such masterpieces. One day I shall take you to watch them at their work. It’s quite a wonder to see.”

Jahrra nodded numbly and got back to the business of making a plate for herself. Whether he had employed magic or not she was beyond grateful for its creation. It had been so hard to leave Oescienne behind but now she would have a reminder, a piece of her past she would be able to hold onto, to draw strength from.
If I ever forget why I left everything behind and followed a dragon into the wilderness and onto a path that very well may lead to my destruction, I will have that tapestry to remind me of why I did it in the first place: to protect what I care most about
. Jahrra got back to her meal and the two of them returned to their companionable silence.

Jaax drank from his goblet and Jahrra worked on the bread, fruit and thick soup Neira had set out on the table. For a while she watched her guardian out of the corner of her eye. It was so very strange seeing him in this elegant, cultured environment. She was so used to the brusque, practical Jaax that seeing him now, behaving properly and displaying the highest class of manners, made her wonder if it was a different dragon altogether that had come with her to Lidien. Of course, he had always given off that aura of nobility in her mind but he never had any real reason to display it at the far-from-elegant Castle Guard Ruin.

Finally, Jaax cleared his throat and spoke up, “Classes for the next session at the University don’t start for another several weeks. I feel it is in your best interest that we sign you up for new classes instead of trying to catch up with what you’ve missed. That should also give us time to get settled in here.”

Jahrra looked up abruptly, nearly choking on her soup. Of all things for Jaax to say she hadn’t expected that. Of course, in the back of her mind she knew she would be attending the University when she came to stay in Lidien, but it hadn’t been discussed once on their long journey here.

“How long will we be staying in Lidien then?” Jahrra braved.

She imagined she would like this beautiful and enchanted city. She liked what she’d seen so far at least. She hoped they would be staying longer than a few months, especially if Jaax was going to enroll her in school.

Jaax sighed, but it wasn’t an irritated sigh. “I honestly can’t say. If it were up to me we would be here for at least two years but I can’t guarantee that. It all depends on what is happening outside the province and if our presence here becomes known by those who mean us harm.”

Jahrra nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. They had come here to escape the clutches of the Crimson King’s men but if they were somehow discovered, or if it was found out they were hiding here, it could mean danger for everyone else. True, Felldreim was the province with the most magic and they would be safe at its heart, but that didn’t mean the Tyrant wouldn’t try other tactics to draw them out. Find friends and loved ones outside Felldreim’s borders to use against them. Jahrra shivered at the idea of that horrible scarred man bringing a legion of Cierryon’s men down upon Gieaun and Scede’s ranch.

“We’ll just have to make what time we have here as productive as possible,” Jaax continued.

Jahrra nodded and poured herself something to drink from the chilled pitcher on her table. It tasted like spring water and berries.

“Tomorrow will be a busy day for us,” the dragon went on, reaching for his goblet again. “While you slept I visited some of the members of the Coalition who are currently in town. They are very eager to meet you.”

He wrinkled his nose and eyed Jahrra with a combination of humor and trepidation.

“I’ll be sure to have Neira lay out your best clothes but I think a visit to the seamstress first thing in the morning wouldn’t be such a bad idea.” The Tanaan dragon took a breath. “You’ll be needing some dresses if you’re to be meeting with dignitaries and nobles.”

Jahrra nearly inhaled her drink.

“Dignitaries and nobles?” she managed as she wiped her mouth.

Jaax cringed. “I was expecting you to be more averse to the dresses.”

His grin made Jahrra smile, despite the fact that she had also been wondering about having to wear dresses. But the noble class?
Why would they want anything to do with me?
she wondered. Eydeth and Ellysian hadn’t been noble, well at least they could never actually prove it one way or the other, and even they despised her. How was she supposed to live up to the standards of royals and those who lived among them? The thought made her cringe.