Starlight And Mist

The Orchard

The sun was well situated above her father's house when she woke from her heavy sleep. She could feel the indentation of her blanket on her face as she raised her head to peer blearily out the window by her bed. Startled at how late it was, she rose from her bed and tidied herself before her vanity mirror. She raked her fingers through her now-dry hair, hastily tying it back from her face. Satisfied that her hair wouldn't impede her from gulping down food, she descended the stairs and towards the great hall. Her legs were sore, and her scraped knees were reluctant to go faster than a slow, rigid walk. She hoped it would be a dish full of succulent meats, perhaps a quarter of deer meat.

As she reached the landing, her eyes alighted on her father sitting at the large empty table. Her father was dressed in one of his finest tunics, the bottom hem trimmed in gold thread. It was slightly dirty, as were his typically polished boots. His usually swept-back brown and silver-streaked hair was messy, and the dark circles under his eyes seemed to have gotten deeper. His head was resting in his hands, his elbows propping him up. She felt a pang of sympathy for her father. He looked so tired, so vulnerable. She wasn't used to seeing that side of him. It gave her an uneasy feeling.

She debated going back upstairs and crawling under the covers for a moment. Maybe she'd sleep for many more days and wake up to find it had all been an awful dream; perhaps she'd sleep through her engagement.
Her empty stomach won out. She would have to face her father at some point, and the thought of doing it with some regained strength was appealing.

She approached the table silently, her thick socks absorbing the pitter-patter of her steps on the flagstones. She decided the best approach was to pretend as if nothing had happened.
"I see you have deigned to grace our table with your presence."
She tried not to flinch at the ice in his tone, taking her seat on a plump cushion on the opposite end of the table from where he sat, a nice, safe distance.
"You went to Starfall Forest again." The muscles in his fist were white around the handle of the knife he was using to pare an apple with. His face was a carefully constructed mask of indifference, but anger was burning in his eyes.
"Father..."
"You have been forbidden from ever entering those woods! They are brimming with dangers you aren't even aware of!" His voice raised with his simmering anger.
"For a woman?" She spat. She instantly regretted her loss of control as her father's steely gaze bored into her with so much intensity it felt as though her skin had a hole burned through it.
"I don't know a man who will willingly approach those woods, much less a defenseless little girl who is unarmed. You defied me intentionally."
"I just wanted to say goodbye one last time before..." she couldn't finish the thought. She didn't want to think about leaving everything she had ever known, even if it was worse than the pits of Nethroth. At least it was familiar.

Just then, the kitchen servants came bustling into the room, carrying beautiful glazed stoneware bowls full of a thin clear liquid with cabbage leaves and wild onion floating in it, a light summer concoction. She fought the urge to slump into a disappointed heap, instead mustering a polite smile as the servant set it in front of her, the profoundly deep ingrained politeness that trumped her feelings surfacing automatically. Always put on a pleasant face for others. Never betray what you feel on the inside; never be a burden to others.
At least there was crusted bread and a large chunk of fresh cheese to keep her spirits afloat, she thought weakly.
After the servants left the room, her father resumed the conversation, ignoring his paltry bowl of soup.
"Do you think I care why you went?!" He banged his fist on the table, causing her spoon to bounce, causing her to flinch.
"You could have been killed!" He growled, his voice reverberating off the walls.
The room suddenly felt like it was slowly closing around her, the walls determined to crush her.
"I apologize, father. It was foolish of me." Her voice came out at barely more than a whisper.
She tried not to think about how he would choose to punish her. No one disobeyed Orion's mighty orders and came out of it unscathed. Disobedience and disloyalty came with a hefty price.