“I’m tired,” Mira said finally.
She didn’t want to sit there with her aching head and watch him fume.
She didn’t even know what she said that was so terrible, and she didn’t feel like figuring it out.
“Do you mind if I go to sleep now?”
Rillan glared at her.
Is she actually dismissing me?
He growled.
“Fine.
I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours.”
Mira nodded.
I don’t plan on being awake in a few hours,
she thought.
If agreeing would make him go away, she would do whatever she needed to.
His boots could be heard retreating down the hall, followed by a slamming door.
Mira put her hand to her aching head.
“He could of at least closed it without so much noise.”
Mira didn’t bother to pick up the dishes or the food.
She wanted to be asleep again.
Pulling the blankets back, Mira dropped her robe across the foot the bed, and climbed into the cool silky sheets.
She sunk down into the soft bedding and was asleep almost instantly.
* * * *
Rillan checked on Mira several times, over the next few days.
She remained asleep.
His paranoia getting to him, Rillan started to wonder if she was sleeping so much because of what happened or if she was avoiding him.
In order to take up time while he waited for her to wake, he started to pull the rugs up from the floor in
Elizabeth
’s rooms, so that he could put them down in Mira’s rooms.
He was reluctant to enter the dust covered hall.
There are so many ghostly memories hidden behind those doors
.
Rillan stared at the rugs on the floor.
It might actually be easier to clean the mess off of Mira’s rugs
, he thought wryly.
He looked over the layer of dust and tried to guesstimate how many times he would have to beat the damn things to knock the time from them, versus how much water and soap it would take to clean the bile and urine off the others.
He smiled to himself.
I can just imagine what the druids would think, if I left them outside with a note asking them to be cleaned.
Glancing around the room, Rillan’s eye lingered on a waded up dress at the foot of the disused wardrobe.
He realized that he actually remembered the last time he saw
Elizabeth
wearing it.
Suddenly sadness descended on him like a tidal wave.
He looked up and ran his eyes over all the things in the room.
He couldn’t take
Elizabeth
’s rugs out of here.
They belonged here.
Leaving the room, he closed the door quietly, wishing he had never gone back in there, and went to find the soiled rugs to clean them.
Mira lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling.
She hadn’t left the bed, except to eat and use the chamber pot.
A couple times, she heard her door open.
She would lay still and keep her eyes closed.
She didn’t think he ever came all the way into the room.
As far as she could tell, he looked in and left again.
Mira wasn’t really sure why he kept coming back.
I hope he’s not still hungry.
I don’t think I could handle it again already
.
The tired feeling finally left her, and Mira was becoming restless.
She memorized every crevice in the ceiling.
It was the only part of the room that looked like cave.
What she really wanted was to see the stars, her friends, grass, rain, birds, and so many other things.
She thought back to the shaft that she saw in Rillan’s room.
It must be the only view of the sky in these caves
.
She was starting to really feel the loneliness here.
It was one of the things that made her feel bad for Rillan.
Mira had always been very logical.
She knew, no matter how lonely she might feel, Rillan had been dealing with this awful place a lot longer.
The sigh escaping her lips almost startled her.
Mira didn’t even realize how long it had been since she last said something.
Even the sound of a sigh seemed loud and inappropriate.
By all the Gods I can’t live like this,
she thought.
I need to see the sky and to feel the
breeze
and the rain.
I need to speak and sing.
I need someone.
Tears started to form in her eyes.
Throwing the blankets back, Mira sat on the edge of the bed.
She braced herself for the jolting cold of the stone floor beneath her feet.
The chill that ran through her was exceedingly unpleasant after she spent so much time in her nice warm bed.
Throwing open her closet doors, she found a simple dress and pulled it on.
Then she slid her feet into a soft pair of shoes, deciding to leave them near the bed in the future.
Maybe I can ask Rillan to get me some slippers, if he’ll even talk with me.
Mira found herself thinking that she may be wrong.
At first she believed Rillan wanted girls around because he was lonely and wanted a friend as well as food.
The more he growled and glared, the more Mira found herself doubting that original conclusion.
He was mean and unpleasant no matter what she said.
She forced herself to stop thinking about Rillan.
What she wanted most right now was to see the sky, and the only place she knew where she could do that was his room.
As she walked down the hall toward his rooms, her brain was working on an excuse, in case he found her there. She held the lantern high in the air, sending light scorching down the dark hallway. Mira started by checking the main room at the end of the hall where she found him before.
Finding the room empty and cold, she figured that he hadn’t been there in some time.
Mira crept around, opening doors and looking for him.
Every room was dark, and there was no sign of Rillan.
A sick feeling started in the pit of her stomach.
What if he was sent on an assignment?
He made such a fuss about how bad he can be when he gets back from assignment.
I don’t know if I want to find out how much worse it can be already.
Trying to stop herself from thinking about what terrifying, painful thing he might do, she continued looking for Rillan in the rooms off the main hall.
Once she established he wasn’t anywhere nearby, she snuck down the hall to his door.
Reaching out, she grabbed the handle and started to turn.
A noise down the hall made her jump, and she held the lantern up to see if it was him.
An image of a gaunt, pale, beast with black cold eyes returning from an assassination or some other evil assignment flashed through her imagination, and she instantly felt eyes on her back.
Mira held the lantern up higher and spun around peering in all directions at the darkness.
The idea of returning to her room and going back to hiding under her blankets was becoming more tempting.
Just then, a soft breeze wafted from beneath the door, as if it was calling to her.
It had been so long since she felt anything save the still and dark of this place.
With a new resolve, Mira turned the handle and pushed the door open.
The hall was completely black, not even a dim light speaking of a fire in the hearth.
She crept down the hall.
Another noise had her turning and holding up the lantern again.
Her heart was thudding in her chest so loud that Mira feared he would hear it.
Suddenly it occurred to her,
he might be in bed asleep
.
The lantern light began to waver, as Mira started to tremble.
Why am I so scared?
What’s he going to do?
Bite me?
He’s already done that.
I survived.
Her brain was working too hard.
Mira resolved to leave the lantern on the floor and go the rest of the way with just the light it was throwing.
She could see his open bedroom door.
The lantern gave off enough barely light.
I’ll get inside and decide what to do then
.
I only want to see the stars and feel the breeze on my face.
Then I’ll leave.
Glancing behind herself one last time, Mira slunk the rest of the way down the hall.
She felt like a little kid trying to sneak a sweet from the jar, knowing she had already been told ‘no.’
Carefully, Mira tip toed into Rillan’s bedroom.
An unexpected flash of light from a square in the ceiling beckoned her.
Mira realized it would take an awful lot of wind to blow down the shaft, down the hall, and out from under the door to catch her attention in the hall.
There must be a storm,
she thought excitedly.
She almost forgot that Rillan could be in bed asleep, and she eagerly worked her way to the shaft, staring up into the darkness.
Rillan watched her walk down the hall opening doors and sneaking about.
What is my brave one up to?
He had taken the rugs to the cave entrance with the intention of leaving them where they could get air and dry.
However, a threatening thunderstorm made him think better of the idea.
After piling the rugs haphazardly inside the entrance of the cave, he stared into the sky for some time.
Warm, humid air stuck in his lungs, as he breathed in the night.
Once he thought he would grow used to being in the crypt he called his home.
It took time, but he eventually realized that his desire to sleep beneath stars would never be abated.
When Mira neared his door with the obvious intention of going inside, Rillan nearly stopped her.
Tension held him in the shadows, as he tried to remember whether or not he locked his door when he left.
Then she disappeared into his hall.
He cursed under his breath and followed her.
If she’s looking for you, shouldn’t you be pleased,
he said to himself.
The emotional torrent that had been plaguing him since her first defiant stare began tugging at his mind.
I told her not to be in my rooms,
he growled to himself.
The indecision of how to respond to her blatant disregard for what he told her, and the desire to know what exactly she was up to, kept him in the shadows.
He was partially amused by her attempts to see if she was being followed.
He even made some noises to scare her off.
He figured that if she thought she was being watched, she might run back to her room.
Fear flushed her face.
Rillan was very familiar with fear.
Still, Mira continued on her purpose.
First came, the soft feelings of admiration for her determination and ability to continue in the face of being frightened.
Then came,the anger for the fact that she should be listening to him
,
and she wasn’t.
Rillan snuck into his own bedroom to see what Mira was up to.
He expected her to call out or to check his bed.
Does she really think she’s sneaky and clever enough that she would be able to do this unnoticed? Does the fool girl have no respect for what I am or what I could do to her?
The soft feeling hit him in the stomach again.
She really doesn’t think I would hurt her.
That’s what makes her so brave.
Mira stood under the shaft, staring up into the darkness.
Flashes of light streaked across the sky and were followed by a strangely muffled crackling.
“Even the thunder is strangled down here,” she said in a sad whisper, without realizing that she spoke aloud.