A Crown of Clouds

Chapter 14

"Mother, it's completely unfair...it's a violation of my rights!" said a woman's voice. "You'll live, Jazminda, stop being so dramatic... you have more clothes and things than all the women in this land," barked back another voice that sounded like Tessanda. "It's the principle of it mother!" Cole stopped around the corner, motioning for me to stop behind him, he'd come in like a rooster waking me up in his usual rudeness. He said he didn't want to miss out on his breakfast privileges, especially today as he was feeling quite the hangover, which he made sure I knew. "You usually eavesdrop on people?" I said, through my own groggy voice.

"Don't you?" Cole winked. "Why the need...I mean, if you can sense someone's thoughts and feelings?" Cole turned his back to me as he leaned his ear closer to the wall. "Cole! I can feel you listening..." the woman's voice was cold and laced with frustration. Cole rolled his eyes, "because, fun ruiner... words are the result of feelings, they complete the sentence so to speak."

I followed Cole into the room, immediately met with three sets of eyes. Cretan, Tessanda and who I figured must have been Jazminda. Jazminda's were impressively more intense than even her mothers, I had no magic...but even I could feel the overwhelming sense of having just walked in on a heated argument between two powerful women. Jazminda had to be Cole's sister... the eyes and hair gave her away, she was the first woman I'd seen in Tarata with short hair. She tucked her almond brown hair behind her ears as she composed herself, grabbed her knife and fork and started eating a roasted tomato.

"Good morning darling," Tessanda smiled sweetly towards Cole, who greeted her back. She simply met my eyes, briefly and blankly, with no greeting.

I got the feeling this family was a very hard bunch of people to understand with some seriously complex and deep-rooted family issues. "Did you enjoy the party last night?" said Jazminda sweetly, as she looked me up and down, I was still wearing the red dress, it was that or the bed sheets. I sat down on a chair next to Cretan, who remained quietly eating. "I, ah, did thank you!"

"And did you enjoy wearing my dress too?" Jazminda said, as she stared into my soul, my suspicions proved true, I wanted to whack Cole on the back of his head. "Oh...I am so sorry..." I hated even having to apologise that I'd worn her dress...I hated having to rely on someone else for something as basic and tiddly as the clothes on my back, hated relying on anyone for anything at all. "Relax Jazminda, she had nothing to do with it, she didn't even want to wear it, I could feel it, I couldn't very well have her walking amongst the people in rags, it's enough of a stir that she is able to be here already."

Damnit! I thought...I'd forgotten to hide those feelings when I put on the dress last night. "Pretty girl like you not like dresses? what a crime," Ally said as she approached the table, followed by a groggy and sultry, "I'm starving!" She said as she kissed Cole on the cheek, greeting him good morning. Ally wore grogginess as well as her dress last night, outrageously well. "So is Jazminda apparently," said Cole teasing, "an appetite for arguing hey sis?"

"That's it!" said Jazminda, as she grabbed her plate and pushed her chair out, the wooden legs screeching on the marble floor. She threw her knife directly at Cole, who unphased stopped it dead in the air right near his face, grabbing it with his hand and smirking as it dropped onto the table right next to his plate. "Wanna send your fork this way too?" Jazminda didn't hesitate a second as she threw it with such force that even Cole had to duck to miss that one. Then she looked at me and glared, waving her hand, before I knew it, she'd vanished the dress right off me and had it draping over in her hands. Jazminda's face sported a victorious and wicked smile, she stormed away at such speed as though she had tailwind.

I gasped, my hands immediately crossing over my chest, Cretan had a bed sheet wrapped around me seconds later, I may as well have grabbed the damn sheets after all, I thought. "Darling you mustn't aggravate her, she's been on edge lately."