RockStar

Chapter Six: Into The Palace

The smell of food roused Onyx from her unconscious state. When she opened her eyes, she was staring up at a stone ceiling, this one much closer and less mossy. Turning her head, she saw that she was in a room that was distinctly masculine. On the walls were overlapping sketches of fighting positions. When she turned her head there was a shelf that housed different sized weapons. Knives. Crossbow. Arrows. A mace. A sword. Another turn of her head and she saw a desk and chair and the source of the food smell.

Her stomach growled in yearned and she pushed herself up from the bed. Walking across the room, she pulled the chair out and sat ready to dig in when she saw it sitting innocently on top. "Ugh," she groaned as she started to pick out the mushrooms from the hearty stew that was set aside for her.

While plucking the offending fungi out, the door to the room she was in opened. Spinning around with the spoon in her hand as a weapon, she relaxed when she saw it was it only Sorin. "Oh good, you're up. And eating."

"Not yet." She grimaced sparing an over the shoulder look at the pile of mushrooms. "Where are we? Is this the palace?"

Sorin crossed to the room to his bed and sat down. "No. This is my family home. You needed rest and this was the best place I knew to bring you."

"Well, I'll be ready to go as soon as I'm finished eating." She turned back to the bowl and groaned at the remaining mushrooms in her bowl. "Which I'll do once all these damn mushrooms are out. Gross."

"Sorry, my mother knows I enjoy them," Sorin mentioned thinking of his mother's reaction when he arrived with a bruised face and such unusual cargo on hand. Onyx was unconscious and hefted over his shoulder. While it wasn't the most comfortable, it was the most efficient way to hide her face. His mother had learned from his father that he'd gone on a special mission but wasn't privy to the details. It was no different for his father despite being better acquainted with Xander. To see her youngest come home with an unknown person in his company was one of the last things she expected. As he was talking, he noticed she'd stopped plucking the mushrooms out of her stew. He thought she'd begun eating, but she was just sitting there. "Are you all right?"

Onyx was far from all right. Her mother was kidnapped. Her father's make-believe world was real. She was some guardian or at least expected to be. Then there was that strange reaction she had when she stepped on land. She had been overwhelmed by the multiple presences that were the people of Shamira suddenly in her head. Even now as she thought about it, her mind got away from her, and she felt other beings'...spirit...mind...essence—she wasn't far from sure of what to call it—without thinking. The first she felt as her mind wandered this time was Sorin's. After that, she felt an older woman—possibly his mother—in her head. She slammed her fist into the desk, rattling the bowl, books, and other contents.

"Onyx?"

Hearing her name snapped her back to herself. The fatigued feeling and the lonely sensation came over her again. "I don't know what's happening to me." She whispered as she dropped the spoon and cradled her face in his hands.

Sorin stood up and walked over to her to place a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and turned to look back up at him. Suddenly feeling awkward, Sorin pulled his hand back and looked away from her. Despite the physical similarities and distaste for mushrooms, his best friend and her unknown sister were two completely different people. He'd forgotten that with her voice sounding almost exactly the same as his best friend's. "I'm sure someone at the palace will be able to explain what's going on. You should eat."

Onyx dropped her eyes to her bowl and picked up her discarded spoon. She slowly began to eat, barely tasting the rustic taste she knew the stew was sure to have. She, unfortunately, did taste the mushroom she missed choked it down with a shudder. "I really hate mushrooms." Paying more attention to her stew for any other missed mushrooms, she felt more than saw Sorin leave her side and take up space in front of the sketches on the wall. "How long was I unconscious?"