The Price of Mortality

Chapter Four

I made my way down the stairs early the next morning, tiptoeing down like a thief in the night. I had woken up hours ago, before the sun had risen but hadn't worked up the courage to withdraw from the room until now, when I was sure there were other people awake in the household. I reach the bottom of the stairs and pause, considering retreating to the room when a small girl comes from a side room, carrying with her an empty silver tray. She stops when she sees me and bows her head. 

"Good morning, Miss Melinoe, Welcome home." She greets. 

"Good morning," I say cautiously.

She briefly smiles at my reply. "Breakfast is being served in the dining room. Shall I make you a plate?" 

"Uh, yes, please." She nods again and scurries away. 

I step off the last step and cautiously make my way towards the room she had just left from. When I look in, Carlotta and Merek sit at a large table in the larger room, different foods spread out in front of them. Carlotta speaks absently to her husband, who writes something, not looking up at her. 

I step in slowly, unsure o how to quite announce myself but thankfully don't have to as Carlotta notices me only a moment after. "Melinoe! Good morning, dear," She stands up, coming to greet me. "Oh, I forgot how skinny you were. Are you hungry?"

I don't say anything letting her lead me towards an empty seat at the large table. When she motions for me to sit, I do, smiling thankfully at her. Merek looks up from whatever he is writing only to briefly look at me before going back to whatever he was working on. Carlotta sits back down on the chair to my right and waves a hand towards the food. "Please, help yourself. You're not a guest here, you can have whatever you like, whenever you like." 

"Thank you." I murmur, reaching for a sliced apple and some bread that sits before me. 

"You're very welcome." She beams at me and takes a drink from a goblet before her. 

As I bite into the bread, Merek sighs and looks up, looking at me over the rim of the small glasses that are perched precariously on his nose. "How did you sleep, hmm? Dream of anything besides sunflowers." 

I shake my head slowly, quickly chewing what I had in my mouth. "I don't sleep very much, so I don't really dream." 

Carlotta puts the goblet down as Merek looks at me fully. "Why don't you sleep?" 

I shrug, grabbing some grapes from another platter. "When I dream, it's mostly darkness. I feel this urgency that there was something I was supposed to be doing, somewhere I supposed to be and voices, so many voices. It's easier to just not sleep." I pop a grape into my mouth. 

Carlotta runs her finger around the rim of her goblet but stops when I say this, looking at Merek. He puts his quill down and pulls the spectacles from his face. "That sounds serious." 

I shake my head. "It's been that way since I... woke up." 

"Woke up... in the field?" Carlotta clarifies and I nod, taking a bite of bread. She looks at Merek, who rubs his chin in what I think is thought before she looks back at me. "I'm going to the temple today, would you like to go with me? Worship with me?" 

"Worship who?" 

Carlotta huffs. "Did Edith not worship? Did she not teach you the way to ask for forgiveness and love?" 

I knew that Edith worshipped at a small shine in the back of the home every morning, praying silently to the small wooden idol before she started her chores but she never made me do it, though she offered on various occasions to teach me how.