A Crown of Gold

The Sapphire Palace

My sleep was deep and dreamless. The journey had proved to be more taxing than I had anticipated, which allowed rest to grab ahold of me and pull me under quickly. It wasn't until Nik was reentering the room the next morning, plate and cup in hand, that I woke. Sunlight beamed through the window, collecting as a square in the middle of the floor.

Nik smiled at me, placing the plate down on the nightstand. Now eye level with the dish, I was able to see the plate steamed with eggs, ham, and bread. My eyes widened as an uncontrollable grin broke out over my face. 

Nik chuckled. "Glad to see you have your appetite."

I sat up, pushing my tangled golden locks from my face. Nik sat on the edge of the bed and handed me the cup which had a trail of steam of it's own. 

"What is it?" I asked, taking it from his hands. 

"Tea," he answered.

I inhaled the herbal scent of the the tea, sighing contentedly. After a warm, deep drink, my attention turned quickly to the steaming plate of breakfast. It'd been years now since I had a real breakfast. Ever since I'd joined the company of dragons my meals had been limited mostly to meat and berries. I started with the eggs, humming with delight as the old familiar flavor spread over my tongue. Next was the ham. I was used to meat at this point, but this was something different entirely. This wasn't some gamey, charred kill Darius had made. This was smoked ham carefully sliced and marinated by a cook. 

"I could kiss whoever made this," I sighed, stuffing another bite into my mouth.

Nik laughed. "I don't think you want to do that. I believe he had less teeth than fingers."

I grimaced, but was easily distracted by the warm scent of food wafting up from the plate in my lap. I'd saved the bread for last. Bread was by far the food I missed the most from living in the village. I broke the cut into two, the dough pulling apart in the most enticing way possible. I could've cried as I ate it. Nik sat watching me with an amused expression until the plate was clean. 

I paused, pulling the finger I was licking salt off of from my mouth. "Did you eat?" I asked, praying I hadn't just eaten breakfast for two.

"Don't worry about me," he said, but continued when he saw the look creeping onto my face. "I ate downstairs. Now get up and ready. We've got a long day ahead of us."

I nodded, tossing the knitted blanket from my body and pushing myself up and out of bed. It didn't take much for me to ready myself, all I truly needed to do was was throw the brown coat over my shoulders, pull my boots on and manage my mane of hair. As I pawed at the tangled locks wishing I had some way to contain it, Nik tidied our things and began to pack them away.

"We aren't staying?" I asked, twisting my hair around into a bun that rested at the nape of my neck and holding it there.

Nik shook his head as he cinched his pack closed. "I don't want to stay in one place for too long, especially with Gunweld out there brandishing my seal." 

I sighed, reaching my free hand into my coat pocket. My fingers found the slip of fabric waiting there--the red ribbon Nik had given me before we entered Wetchport. I pulled it from my pocket and used it to tie the bun into place. I blew the stray curls that dangled at the front of my face out of my eyes, but was content in controlling the majority of my hair. 

"So where to now?" I asked, moving to pack up my own bag. 

"I know someone who may have an idea of where Gunweld might've been taken," Nik answered. "We'll need to be careful though. These sorts of people can be... unpredictable."