Golden Flower

Chapter Nine

Adara woke up once again, in the middle of the night. Just like the evening she had met Tayvin. She had a thought ever since doubt crept into her life, that she wasn't going to sleep well. Ever. Remembering the pain kept her up at night, and the faded memories-that when she reached for them quickly fell out of view.

Adara especially wasn't going to sleep well after the fight with her father. She tried not to think about it, or she might break down in tears once again. It seemed all she could do these days was cry, cry, cry.

The only thing she knew for sure was that there was a secret, and somebody was willing to speak.

Tayvin.

He had left a note for her, and despite her eagerness for answers had forgotten about it. In fact, it was probably still lodged in her bra.

Adara rolled herself over to the side of her bed, reached down her dress, into her bra and pulled out the crinkled-up note. She ran her fingers over the ink lettering, tracing each stroke as he had written them.

Search for me again? What did he mean by that?

Tayvin wanted her to look for him, but why? Maybe he did not want to go near the Nobles or Kings Quarters or be questioned while looking for Adara. If he got caught trying to help her then who knows the outcome.

But who is Tayvin? And why is he just involved now?

Too many questions, too many outcomes flooded her mind. It was all overwhelming, she needed to find comfort.

Adara practically tore herself from her room and moved her body to her record player. She put on her only symphony of a harp, A Dragon's Lullaby, then moved to the bath. She needed one badly at this point. Her hair had been tangled for a day or more, her body was stressed, and her face was puffy. She needed to wash it all away, down the rusted old pipes of nature's prison.

The rhythmic patterns curled around her body as the heat from the tub surrounded the room. The piece sounded most like the one she had heard before seeing Tayvin, before he snapped her out of the trance. It was dark, mystical, bewitching.

Could it have been him? Was Tayvin playing the music that led her straight to his grasp?

The only way she could find this out was by asking him, and she knew fearlessness would allow her to do so. She couldn't always be so uptight; it was time to let go of the Adara she had known before.

Eyes closed, she sank to the bottom of the tub and let her body hit the bottom. She let her limbs go loose and held her breath until the very edge.

Get a grip on yourself Adara.

She did it.

She convinced herself that she could do it.

She was a strong woman and would finally push back the longing state of perfection.

If not now, then it would be never.

She jolted up from the tub, almost slipping on the wooden floor beneath her, and rushed her bare body to the vanity that sat in front of the room.

She didn't even dare to grab a towel just yet, instead she went right to brushing out her thick chestnut hair in hopes it would dry faster. Adara looked in the mirror as the comb swept through and realized the bath had helped a lot more than she thought. The swelling in her face had gone down, and the redness was barely visible.

But she still wanted to look her best.

She coated her face with a smooth mute colored creme, and dotted glitter on the sides of her plump cheeks. Adding to the masquerade, she smudged brown over her eyelids and dragged the color upwards, creating a winged affect.