In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

27 - Neris - Bedchamber Secrets

Bringing him to her bedchamber had been her goal since he first awoke. Though she had plotted events with the distinct knowledge that the game would be in her field, Neris was left in a sordid mood. Davnian, the Virage, was in a dark place, detached by the looming specter of some mysterious, nameless terror. She kept up her part of the bargain both in action and play as she guided her red-and-blue-clad lover to the great tree. She teased and toyed with him as they walked, but his every step seemed weighed down, each footfall becoming more onerous than the last, though perhaps it was his need for recovery.

No, Neris knew this mood. And it wasn't pleasant.

She teased the nape of his neck as they made their way inside the first of the rounds of the Hyunisti great tree, keeping her lips moist and her demeanor enticing. She didn't want him knowing the game had been swept. Not that Neris wasn't somewhat put out as well.

The first tome she found, the one Kadin had been so nonchalant about reading, was the typical rants of a megalomaniac without a clue. Nerin's lusts and motivations were simple enough. He wanted power. He wanted the name "Delvori" to be more than a historical footnote. And beyond all, he wanted to be served. None of that surprised her.

But always curious, she had taken a keen interest in a trunk stowed beneath his bed. It was odd how carefully her brother had stashed it and even more enticing due to how it had been locked. If not for his absentmindedness, she would have been unable to open the box, but with the key on the nightstand, she had taken to prying. And inside, she found a worn-out memoir.

Beneath scrawled runes and indecipherable symbols, Neris made out the writings of her brother. At first they were the same as those in the former book. But midway through her brother's words became overwhelmingly erratic. His personage was replaced with constant references to his unseen friend and detailed ramblings of the voices in his head. Given the way Nerin presented himself, she wondered if he could even remember the things he wrote. The worst would be if he did, the whole act a culmination of infighting insanity struggling with his obnoxious persona.

The entire thing froze her at the tail, jolts of ice water bubbling up and flowing down her spine. Ignoring the unpleasantness was but another trait that she had learned well.

"Feeling tired, are you?" Neris whispered into Davnian's ear, her hands clutching his shoulders as she pressed him forward. His motions betrayed his weakness. He had not regenerated enough for such exertion, though she had planned for that. "It's not much farther now."

"This place is grander than I expected," Davnian said, his words teasing her as his breath hung heavily in his throat. Something else was amiss with him, but she could not tell what. "Do you climb this every day?"

"Multiple times, though it's nothing compared to what you've put me through."

He chuckled as they made the last round. Urging him onward, she walked ahead. Opening the door, Neris pulled her lover into her nest.

"Welcome, ne vahr." Her heart fluttered as she shut the door behind them.

Her chamber was a large, circular room, shifted to the side of the great circle, allowing for a grand view of the old healer's tree and the central terrace. Large wooden windows filled with horizontal slats lined the outer wall. She had prepared a few larger candles. As Davnian took in the sight, Neris lit one candle, followed by the others. The soft glow of their wicks lined the room with dancing gold-and-copper flames.

In the radiance, Neris's semi-lavish feather bed stood at the end of the slatted progression. Upon it was a lavish woolen cover. Tussled upon it were satin and linen sheets of various hues. A half dozen pillows were clumped at the head of the mattress with a half dozen more lumped beside the frame. Large wooden posts, polished pieces of small oak trunks, marked the corners.