Acolyte

Chapter Four

DECEMBER

Dawn comes faster than I would've wished, with my sleep interrupted by a number of horrible dreams. Each time I'd jolt from slumber and look over to Solana, peacefully sleeping on her cot, and feel resentment.

As the sun creeps over the horizon, I creep out of bed, stoking the fire and pulling on an overshirt. I debate waking Solana, who still sleeps peacefully, but eventually decide she would probably like breakfast.

Gently, I reach out to touch her shoulder, but pull back. That feels wrong. Instead, I grab the edge of the cot, moving it just enough to rustle her awake. Her eyes blink open.

"Sorry to wake you up," I say, "But I'm about to leave for breakfast."

"Oh," she says, clearly half awake,"I'll come as well." She sits up and begins working on her hair, unraveling the long braid and brushing through it.

I busy myself packing things for the day: my dagger, armor, a canteen of melted snow. By the time I'm ready, Solana has finished with her hair, with it laying in a number of ornate braids with beads.

"I'm ready," she says.

I nod and we leave the hut. It's a slightly warmer day, so much of the snow has melted into slush, muddying up the streets and dirtying my boots. Solana has to hold up her dress, keeping it from getting too dirty.

"Is there no mud where you come from?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "Not like this. It never snows there, and in the temple, you don't have to go outdoors unless you want to."

"Really?" I ask.

She nods, "Sometimes it rains, but never enough to make mud like this. It's really beautiful."

I see a glint of sadness in her eyes, and decide to change the subject.

"Breakfast here is pretty good. In the spring we'll even have some fruit, probably."

That seems like the wrong thing to have said. Solana only looks even more wistful.

"At the temple, there was fruit in the garden all year... I'd been told that in the human world it was limited to seasons, but I never believed them..."

I sigh, "I'm sorry. We'll at least have meat like the bacon from yesterday."

She nods, smiling at least a little bit. Her spirits don't seem completely lifted but I guess it makes sense for her to feel sad, having left everything she knows.

"You know," I say, "When I came here, I left my village. I haven't been back since."

Solana looks up, her light eyes meeting mine.

"Really?" she asks.

"Really," I say, "It's hard sometimes, of course... I miss my family, my brothers... but it's become easier."

Now, finally, she seems less shaken, nodding to herself.

"Yes, perhaps it will become easier."

We spend the rest of the walk to breakfast in a more comfortable silence than before. Seamus is waiting at our usual table, poring over some old journal. He waves at us from across the lodge.

"Good morning!" he says, as we reach the table.

"Morning," I grunt. Despite Solana and I's prior conversation waking me up some, I have no idea where he's getting this energy from.

"How'd you sleep?" he asks.

I shrug, "Not well. But it's fine."

I grab some bread and a few slices of bacon and slide them onto my plate, ravenous. Solana picks her food more delicately, lightly buttering her bread and cutting apart the bacon with a knife. I didn't even know we had utensils.