Starrlings 1: House of Fire

chapter 21

There was a shout from behind them, and she looked back to see a woman running towards them.

"What in the name of skies and stars were you doing?"

"Ah," Raphael said. He adjusted the cuffs of his shirt and then looked between Lumi and the woman, who wore the thick riding pants and boots of a caval, with a dark red shirt. "This is Rita, the head of the House of Fire cavalry. She was once a professional kinntiger charger, but now she works in training our students and their tigers. Rita, meet Princess Lumiko of Kakaio."

The woman gave nothing but a polite nod of her head towards Lumi, and then turned to Raphael.

"Sir. The girl has clearly not formed a strong enough bond to her kinntiger, and she was not ready to ride him. She'll need more thorough training before she can attempt anything like that again."

Lumi felt a flush of shame creep through her at the woman's words. She'd never felt so disrespected - firstly to not be greeted properly, and then to be spoken about while she was standing right here. She'd never been called a "girl" before. She had only ever been a princess.

"Ah, and that's my fault entirely, Rita," Raphael said. "I trust you'll be able to take care of the tiger, if I take care of the princess?"

Lumi opened her mouth.

"The tiger is best left in my care, thank you, sir."

"Princess," Raphael said, turning to Lumi. "May I accompany you to the dining hall for lunch?"

Lumi stared at Raphael, and he smiled at her.

She looked down at her dress, for the first time to check herself for any injuries, but Raphael seemed to take this as confirmation. Without another word, he took her arm.

"Princess, I have to apologise. I had expected you would have been much more familiar between a tiger's wings, but I was wrong, and that's entirely my fault."

Lumi wanted to say something. Some explanation, that fire starrlings only received their kinnling on their sixteenth birthday, and thus she hadn't had time to bond, but she couldn't find the words.

"Are you hurt at all?" Raphael asked.

"No," Lumi mumbled.

"Good. Now, see where Kala has just flown. That large building is what we call the Old Building. It houses the dining hall, where we take each meal."

And then, suddenly, her brother was by her side, and she was overwhelmed with how relieved she felt to see his familiar face. Here, at least, was a touch of home. He was here, with a dark expression and his furrowed brows. Tai.

"Sister," Tai said, greeting his sister with a bow. "Raphael, if you don't mind, I'd like to eat with my sister."

Raphael let go of Lumi's arm. "Of course," he said, as he adjusted his cuffs. "After you."

"We'll just have a little talk in the hallway first," Tai said, still in the Starg language, and he grabbed Lumi's arm just where Raphael had let go, and led her up the stairs into the Old Building, and into an empty hallway.

"Where have you been? What have you been doing with him?" Tai snapped, switching to the Fire language as soon as they were alone. He'd changed out of his travelling clothes and into a pair of black trousers and a black shirt, so that he looked almost Lombardian. There was a strand of hair escaping from his bun, and it fell across his forehead.

"I've..." Lumi started.

"You've..." Tai spat. "What is this?"

His hands trailed down to her arm, along the sleeves of her dress, which reached down to her wrists. He pushed hard at her arm, and Lumi looked down to see a stain on her elbow.