Shadowsinger

Chapter Two-Stories and Secrets

Shadows abandon me in my dreams as I'm instead stretched naked on a slab of stone as the guards take their turns with me. The sun burns my skin and the light illuminates my every crevice for all to see. Even as I scream and tug at my silken restraints, they don't budge. A scream rips out of my throat and my eyes flash open to find myself in a very different place than I thought. The bed is covered in silk and satin with enough pillows behind me for twenty more people. Curtains flutter around wide openings; no glass, nothing to open or shut, just open cliffs with dancing cloth on either side. Tasteful furniture dots the room, but my eyes catch on the tub half-hanging on the ledge.

I don't have time to move before I've vomited all over the silk blanket over me. It's not much since there isn't much in my body, but I fold up the blanket before tying it and tossing it towards one of the openings. Unlit candles surround the room, but they aren't needed even when I see a night sky stretching out around me. The night sky. I never thought I'd see one again, but this one is by far the most beautiful I've ever seen. Dots of light line the darkness like a motheaten blanket draped over the sun. It's glorious.

Carefully, I push back the rest of the blankets and look at my feet. They're whole. I wiggle my toes and they all respond easily. My skin is clean and gleaming along with my soft black nightgown. The strength that had been failing me in that rotting palace seems to have returned even though my body is still little more than skin and bones. I slide out of bed and onto wobbly legs that instantly give out. I sigh and tug one of the heavier, unsoiled woolen blankets off the bed. It slithers onto the floor and I slide onto it, then drag myself closer to one of the openings using the blanket as a sled of sorts. I take a deep breath as I look out upon a city of starlight and amber with snow-capped mountains framing the left while the far side holds a crystal sea that shimmers even from here.

Thankfully, it's balmy even with the snow so nearby, but I keep the blanket wrapped around me as I wiggle all my toes again. No matter where I am, even hell, at least I'm fucking warm. I curl into one of the shadows thrown out by the bed overlooking the city and it's only when the sky turns a pale blue do I fall back asleep to avoid the harsh light of day.

I'm jerked awake later by a soft knocking on my door that sounds eerily like the clanking of chains. I take a steadying breath when I realize I'm no longer in that cage, but I also don't answer whoever is knocking. The door opens anyway and reveals two women. One carries food and the other fresh linen. I don't move even when my stomach groans it's need for food. Their eyes look over the room and one wrinkles her nose at the blanket full of vomit, but then they go to work. One makes the bed while the other sets out the food on the bench at the end, then they vanish back from where they came.

I scarf down every last bit of food they brought me before noticing a note whose corner is wedged beneath the water glass. I unfold it while sucking seasoning off my fingers. The food here is delicious, the best I've ever eaten, although part of me wonders if that's because I haven't had a full meal in months. My eyes squint at the artful script on the note as I read it silently.

I'd like to know who is a guest in my home. I'd be grateful if you would attend dinner with me tonight. Your choice, of course. -High Lord

My host seems courteous, at the very least. High Lord means little to me, but it's clearly some kind of important title. Although I'm not sure I'll even be able to walk properly by dinner. Already it's mid-afternoon going by the light that still stings my eyes, so I don't exactly have much time. I set the card aside and push up on the bench to stand. My new legs shake, but it seems this body recovers faster than my human one did. I look at the armoire on the wall and grit my teeth as I make it my target. If I'm going to dinner, then I'll need clothes other than the nightgown I have on. I take one step towards the piece of furniture and manage to stay on my feet, then take another before collapsing in a heap of limbs on the floor.