In Stone

22: "I want you, Caspian."

22: “I want you, Caspian.”

Vaeri proved to be just as beneficial a guide as she promised. She didn't seem to mind Caia's questions nor her happy attitude. If anything, she returned the same energy that Caia gave her with her own form of optimism and excitement.

When she finished her chores, which were done early in the morning, she would take Caia around and show her about the town. She usually had to go to bed around the time not long after lunch because she would have to be up early to do the deck scrubbing and sealing with the others. However, in between that time she was happy to be Caia's friend.

Which was what she called herself. Caia didn't realize that was what was happening because McKenzie couldn't have been more different from Vaeri. So one day as Caia was meeting some more people, Vaeri introduced her as her friend. Caia's first reaction had been to ask 'really?' with a strange look on her face. Vaeri had assured her they were, and they were.

Though Vaeri was younger than Caia, Caia felt like she was. Vaeri, who was the oldest of three children, easily took on the role of older friend to Caia. She showed her around, she explained cultural differences, she insisted they talk about Caia's relationship with Caspian.

It was a topic that she was trying hard to avoid, mostly because Caspian was avoiding her. She rarely saw him anymore. He left the house usually early in the morning. Sometimes she heard he was in the temple with his uncle, others she heard he was visiting old friends and relatives, once she heard that he had gone to the forest for some reason. He still showed up to dinner, though that was more due to Elanil than any desire to see her, but he rarely spoke.

Part of her was afraid that she might have done something wrong. Another part of her said that he was just being smart. They would have to separate eventually. The only thing their closeness was going to accomplish was making it harder Caia later. She was clearly the more attached, the more prone to co-dependence, she had to accept the distance and be thankful for it.

Instead, she tried to focus on the beauty of Galmora. It was wonderful sort of town. It was so isolated though that they were rarely visited and even fewer ever left. Vaeri took her out of town to the base of the waterfall, helped her identify the plant and animal life in the surrounding forest, and was the first person to bring her into the temple.

Caia had been anxious about going in. She suspected that somehow an enchantress wasn't allowed in the holy place. Caspian certainly never made mention of taking her within. Part of her was worried that she'd step inside and everyone would just know.

However, Vaeri insisted and Caia couldn't think of a way to refuse. So she took her to the heart of Galmora, to the only building made of stone and not wood. It came up from the depths of the lake below, coated in moss and algae. Vaeri explained that the temple wasn't build by the town, the temple was already here and the town was built around it. The wooden bridge to the single entrance sloped downwards, almost making contact with the water itself. Water dripped down the sides of the outside walls, smoothing them and making them shine in the sun.

Inside, there was a quiet dignity not unlike a church, which wasn't all that surprising. It was smaller than Caia would have guessed, but there were two people inside praying. There were no pews or statues or stained glass like Caia would have expected from a church. Instead, there was a shallow basic burning with a blue-green fire that gave her pause.

“The fire...” she blinked in surprise, pausing. It wasn't blue, it was more turquoise.

“That's the holy fire,” Vaeri explained, her voice low in respect. It always burns that color. Any flame that started it is yellow but it always turns that color when placed in the basin.”