The Traveler: Part 1

Chapter 8

After Ciri had also bathed, she and Iespeth were shown their chambers where they would spend the night. It was a standard dormitory room with all the basic amenities that was nearest the headmistress' quarters. She felt a bit bad that some student was forced to share a room with a classmate because of her and Iespeth. Triss hadn't had time to take them to her home in lieu of guests who would be arriving shortly.

Ciri sat down in front of the vanity and began combing out her wet, long, ashen hair. It had become irritatingly tangled in the past weeks and she thought about taking the simple wooden comb with her, knowing whoever it belonged to could easily get a new one. Looking in the mirror, she could see Iespeth sitting on the bed in a wool robe and a pair of lamb-skin slippers, watching as she yanked the comb in and out of her ashen hair. It wasn't the most glamorous apparel, but even mages adorned such attire in private, considering how cold the nights could get in Kovir.

When Ciri finished, Iespeth walked over to her holding out her hand for the comb. After what the witcheress had learned about circumstances in which Iespeth found herself in, she felt a bit more tender towards the elf. How could it possibly feel, being in the body of a fully mature woman and having the intellect of a toddler? Instead of giving her the comb, Ciri stood up and patted the seat where she had previously sat. Iespeth took a seat, grinning until she saw the mirror. As Ciri started working on her tangled blonde hair which had curled up after being cleaned, Iespeth poked and prodded her own cheeks and fondled her nose. As the comb pulled back the hair covering her ears, Iespeth noticed them for the first time. She fumbled the earlobe then traced the outline of the auricle ending on the tip, pulling it away from her head and letting it go with a flutter. Iespeth looked at Ciri, who was finishing up on her last tangled strand.

"Ears. I have them too," Ciri said, pulling her wet hair to the side. "The only difference is that you have pointy ears because you're an elf. And I'm...well mostly not elf," Ciri said, wondering if Iespeth now understood the important role the hood she was often forced to wear had played. Ciri finished grooming Iespeth and put her into the bed pulling the covers up to her chin.

After Iespeth had fallen asleep, Ciri finally had some time to think. Sleeping wouldn't be possible anyway, since her little elf had sprawled out, taking over the whole bed.

She thought about what she and Triss had talked about. Triss: the sorceress who had possibly injured herself trying to help Ciri with a friend simply because she asked her to. And Ciri turned her down. She turned down a friend who needed help just as she did, not a conspiring witch who was doing a favor and expecting to be compensated for it one way or another.

It was true she would always be wary of mages and their motives, but that didn't mean she had to be controlled by them. She was no longer a child and knew what game they played, knew how many of them ticked. How bad could a single evening be with them? And Triss was right; not all of them played that game. There were those who wished for the world to be better, putting aside their desire of personal gain for the greater good. Triss herself, even Yen at times...and Rita. Yes. Even wickedly beautiful Margarita Laux-Antille, who had always put the good of her students first, who had returned to Ban Aard amidst a war to protect them, who was tortured and nearly burned at the stake for them, was one of those people. She couldn't let this opportunity slip. Just this once she thought, this one time I'll play the role of a senior Lodge sorceress.

Ciri figured at this point the mages were holding full wine glasses and pretending to enjoy hors d'oeuvres. Ciri knew what these events were like: little was eaten or drunk. Consuming food was considered a social indiscretion and would be avoided at all costs. Her stomach grumbled, craving whatever they might end up eating. She opened the wardrobe, pulled out the first dress she could find and put it on. What are you getting yourself into, she thought, looking at herself in the mirror.