A Little Lost

Meeting

I clutched the fabric under me. Whatever it was was soft and thick. But I could feel the shifting of soft dirt underneath it. I guess I was still in the crawlspace? My legs and back confirmed this, aching and sore from last nights events and having slept on a rocky, dirt floor. I rolled to my back and opened my eyes.

It was dark under the building, only some dim light coming through the cracked entrance and other holes along the skirting told me that it was morning. The wind outside couldn't make it to me, no matter how it beat against the building or whistled through the cracks; but that didn't mean the natural chill of the earth hadn't sunk into my boots and skirts through the night.

It might be about the time that Merl would get up and start gathering vegetables and wood. Terrance would be right behind her, going to take care of the animals and bring back some eggs for breakfast. Dad would have already been up for hours; praying, sacrificing a few plants for his runes, and drinking his special Cicada bean coffee. 

I sighed, thinking of how the entire camp would smell like the bittersweet brew until we packed up everything to leave again. I sat up, dearly missing those sounds and smells and even the subtle warmth of the sun coming through the thick leather of our tents. 

The thought was more than enough to make me shiver in the cold dirt.

"Aah! I'll be home before the weeks out! Quit thinking that way!!" I rubbed my hands over my face and shook out my hair, doing what I could to knock off any dirt or remaining cobwebs from last night. 

I rolled off the soft cloth that was under me, wondering where it came from. Maybe it was... The eyes! Where did they come from? Where did they go, for that matter? And why leave me this to sleep on? I folded it up, thinking that I should find the eyes and return it. It was only polite after all.

I crawled to the door and pushed the board back a little, stuck my head out, squinting to adjust to the brightness, and looked around for signs of people. But there was nothing but the locked fence and the crates I'd hidden behind last night. I slid the board all the way over and pulled myself out, dusting off my skirts first, then the cloth thing to get a better look at it.

It was a cape, smooth like silk, but much heavier than any silk I'd ever wore. It was dyed a dark blue, almost completely black if not for the way it shone in the sunlight, almost like the shimmering of a crows wings. The inside was a pure black material that seemed to suck up the light around it, and it was littered with pockets of every size. I thumbed the material and it sparked a memory, but I couldn't tell what it was right away.

"'S nice, 'init?" Someone said. It was the voice from last night...

I looked down the alleyway and finally saw who was my rescuer. Immediately my cheeks flushed.

She was absolutely beautiful.

The tallest woman I'd ever seen stood before me. Her long, fuzzy red hair seemed to float around her like magic. Her skin was starkly white but had thousands of tiny freckles on her cheeks, arms, and chest. She wore a raggedy white shirt with the sleeves cut off and a pale blue vest over top of it. The long skirt she wore were more of a wrap around held together with a large bronze clasp and the fanciest sandals I'd ever seen were wrapped around her feet and ankles. I could have sworn on my life that she was a noblewoman of some kind, if not the queen of some far off land. I fumbled with her cape, folding it while simultaneously reeling my jaw back up to my head.

She shot me a friendly smile and looked me over as well, but much more suavely than I'd done.

"That was a gift. From some friends of mine. Good people. Traveled with 'em for a while," She came over to me, holding out her hand, "I'll take it back now."