Kings Game

Chapter 105 - Ghosts

(1)

Roran woke up curled around his pillow. He felt stiff from spending too much time lying in bed. The room was dark and the house was quiet around him. He had no real idea of how long he'd been sleeping for. It could have been hours, it could have been days.

Closing his eyes, Roran extended his presence outwards, probing the house for life. He found Darling in her study, the same study where Karyn had died, working through a pile of paperwork. Sasha was at the spare desk, helping sort through documents. Other members of the Sunridge house were milling about, tidying up the house and performing chores. Samwell was in the kitchen, helping the chef get a start on dinner.

"Early afternoon then," Roran mumbled.

He used to enjoy having morning chats with Sarah right after waking up. Nowadays he settled for talking to himself. Rolling out of bed, Roran fell to the floor and immediately started doing push ups. After living with Kell for so long, Roran had gotten into a comfortable habit of doing calisthenics to maintain his strength. Naturally, that was all forgotten after Karyn's murder, but Nul had insisted that he get back into routine exercise.

The spell Nul had created to rebuild Sarah required Roran's body to supply the energy, creating a constant drain on him. Even being in good condition beforehand, the spell was relentless and would continue to leave Roran exhausted for the foreseeable future unless he committed to building up his strength and forcing his body to adapt. That meant increasing his body's ability to produce energy, primarily by exercising and eating more.

Roran's stomach growled as he rolled over to begin doing sit ups. The frustrating part about needing to eat more was that he was never hungry. The constant state of exhaustion made food a secondary thought to sleep and rest. It also took the pleasure out of eating. No matter how much he stuffed his face, it wouldn't be enough to restore his strength. All Roran wanted to do anymore was curl up in a ball and fall back into oblivion.

"Only twenty more years," Roran muttered.

Or maybe less. If everything went well, Nul indicated that Sarah might recover in as soon as fifteen years. The toll on Roran's body would be the same. He'd be tired and gray by the time she returned, but at least she would return.

Finishing his morning exercises, for lack of better term, he adjusted his robes around himself and left the room. Heading down to the kitchen, Roran knocked on the door as he slipped inside. Both the chef and Samwell startled.

Samwell stared at him with an odd expression. Roran knew the young man's opinion about him had drastically changed since the attack on Kings City, but he wasn't sure where they stood now.

"Hey," Roran said weakly, "Sorry to bother you. Could I get some bread and a little soup? Broth would be fine, just something gentle."

The chef recovered first. "Supper will be out in only a few hours. You would be better off waiting for the full meal."

"I know, I just-"

"Give the poor lad some food," said Matriarch Thora, coming up behind him. "He's as pale as a ghost."

"As you say, miss." The chef dug out half a small loaf of bread and put a small pot on the stove to heat some broth. Samwell regarded both Roran and the Matriarch for a moment before going back to his food preparations.

Matriarch Thora watched the young. She seemed as if there was something she wanted to say. Roran's newfound insight told him that there was tension between them. He also felt tension emanating from Samwell towards himself. The young man's feelings were chaotic. Apparently his time away hadn't done anything good for Roran's reputation.