The morning of Sunsday greeted those remaining in the Royal Fleet with cool breezes and light showers of rain. Rachida had packed all her belongings along with Riyah's, hopeful that her friend would have awoken overnight and would be ready for the adventure on land. Hope was the one thing she wouldn't let be taken from her; she was sure of that. As she stepped over the few bodies of those sharing her room, she tried to grab the three books the princess had lent Riyah without waking anyone else. First light had only just dawned, and it began filling the room with a golden brilliance. As she wrapped the books with ribbon, she realised she had one last book to grab; Riyah's dream journal. She scanned the room, trying to figure where she would have put it. She looked towards the bed Riyah once slept in, the very same bed that Rachida had since refused to let anyone else sleep in. She noticed a corner of the leather-bound journal sticking out from the base of it and she smiled before grabbing it. Satisfied she had everything in the two canvas bags, she quietly opened the door and made her way down the corridor to the healer's bay.
The bay was now almost empty. Master Keelie's relentless push to get the staff and servants on their feet, seemed to have scared most of them into health. At the table at the end of the room sat Sekher.
"Oh wise master Sekher." Rachida said in a mocking voice as she bowed low. Sekher rolled his deep green eyes, looking up from the book only slightly, he responded,
"Chidi, blessed day." He continued writing notes in a book with blackened page edges.
"What's that?" Rachida motioned towards the book, curiosity getting the better of her.
"It's the Book of the Dead, I'm transcribing the lists I've been given so we can pass on to the Crystal Capital Court the records of those departed from this life."
"Wow - what fun at this time of the morning." Rachida moved to Aardriyah, who had now been moved into one of the spare beds. Kit lazily opened an eye, stretched across the bed, yawning all the while, before shaking his body furiously. A groggy voice came from behind the canine,
"Kit, I'm trying to sleep." Then the dog was kicked off the bed as the occupant turned on her side and pulled the feathered pillow further under her head. Rachida squealed, jumped on the bed and kissed Aardriyah on both sides of the cheek.
"RIYAH - You're awake! You're alive! Oh, my Lugh, thank you god of fire, thank you for giving her life again!" A few tears streamed down Rachida's cheeks. Aardriyah tried to turn but was pinned in place by the pint-sized fire blessed woman.
"You're squishing me!" Aardriyah moaned. Rachida jumped off, crossed her arms and stared down at her friend.
"Seriously? That's all you've got to say? I've been so darn worried about you woman, every day and night coming to check on you, feeding your glutton of a dog, I even packed your gods darned bag and all you can say is 'you're squishing me'?" Rachida stamped her foot for emphasis.
"What do you mean, every day and night?" Aardriyah started to sit up on her bed, taking in the room around her.
"How did I get here? What happened?" Panic overtaking every other sensation. Sekher moved towards his newly awakened patient and handed her a tankard of water.
"Well my love, that's what we'd like to know."
Aardriyah grabbed the tankard, the water tasted like the sweetest nectar she had ever drunk and she skulled it quickly, unaware of the dribble wetting her cotton white gown.
"I told you to go downstairs because it was the safest place. Then when everything is done and the beast is down, we found you here. You were bruised and bleeding but otherwise seemed fine, but you didn't wake to any of the smelling salts or leaves, you were just ... asleep. Oh, and there was some weird... person... in here too, a stowaway they think. Anyway, they're locked up now, awaiting trial in the capital. We thought maybe they had poisoned you or whatever, but they refuse to speak so we were hoping you might remember what happened and then we can make sense of all of this!" Rachida finally stopped, Sekher and Aardriyah shared a glance before they broke into laughter.
YOU ARE READING
The Unblessed Child
FantasyThere are two types of people in The New Realm: those who are blessed by the gods of the four elements and those who aren't even worthy of their family name. They are unwanted, unloved and are simply known as The Unblessed. Eighteen year old Aardriy...
