The Two Sides of a Sword

Chapter Seven

Aley did not sleep well. The blanket was thin, the room was cold, the floor was hard, her wings were uncomfortable, not to mention her mind was spinning out of control wondering what her parents were thinking and how Rocki was doing.

It was hard to gauge the time since the room didn't have any windows. But, after waking up for the fourth time, she decided to get up and see if she could catch anyone's attention. Nobody answered the couple of times she banged on the door and shouted, so she resigned to sitting on the bed and studying her wings.

They were dark brown, like the walnut furniture her mom was so fond of. They were shaped kind of like bat wings, but more pointed at the top. The leathery skin seemed thin, but when she gave them a hard flap it almost knocked her over.

"Why did you show up just now?" she murmured. "I've been alive for twenty-four years and you just now decided to pop in? Although, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've just now been brought to another planet."

Footsteps echoed through the hall.

Aley's head jerked up and she stared at the door for a moment before jumping to her feet. Just as she was about to rush over and give it another good pounding, someone knocked.

"Savioress? I have brought you the morning meal. May I enter?" It wasn't Xinn, like she had been expecting. It was a different voice, but with the same accent that all sariun seemed to have.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Aley started to comb through her mess of hair. Oh my gosh, I was wearing makeup yesterday. I must look terrible! She furiously wiped at her face, whining in panic when she saw the mascara and glitter smeared on her hand.

A very tall, whip-thin sariun with bright blue hair entered. He looked familiar, so he must have been a part of Xinn's crew. "Savioress." He knelt, tilting his head to the side.

"Um, hi," she said awkwardly. "What's your name again?"

He smiled, standing. "I am YehrEcheCaif, Savioress. General Xinn apologizes that he could not bring you your meal, but he is currently in a meeting with the counsel."

Caif, from the ship. He seemed friendly. "Oh. That's okay. Um, thank you." She stepped forward and reached out, taking the tray from him. "Do you happen to know if anyone has made plans to get my sister?"

His expression was apologetic. "Not yet. I believe that may be one of the topics in today's meeting though." He rubbed a finger over a scar on the back of his hand—the only sign in his otherwise relaxed posture that he was nervous. She supposed meeting someone apparently as important as she could make a person anxious.

"Gotcha." She bounced on the balls of her feet awkwardly.

Caif nodded towards the practically untouched tray by the blankets. "May I remove that for you?"

"That would be great," she said, glancing down at the new tray in her hands. Some of the food was the same, but there were some new ones, a few of which looked appetizing enough.

"There is a washcloth on the tray for you as well," Caif said as he walked over and picked up the old one. "I'm sorry I can't offer you a shower at this time. I was informed you were not allowed to leave the room yet."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'm not, am I?" She took a peek at the door that he had left partially open. There was another sariun waiting outside, a spear in hand. "How long has that guy been standing there?"

Caif also glanced at the door. "I'm not sure. He doesn't look tired enough to have been your night guard, so I would guess he's the morning relief."

She frowned, setting down her tray and storming over to the guard. Caif jumped to follow her. "Hey," she snapped. "Why didn't you answer when I was calling earlier? I could have needed something important."