Chapter Three
Other then embarrassment upon waking up, I was fine. I did recall what had been said to me, and only now was I feeling anything like anger. What proof did they have that I was the person they were looking for? How did I know they were telling the truth, even? I demanded that they prove what they claimed the moment I opened my eyes.
Mizuiro nodded, patted my shoulder, and sent Galen off for something. I don’t remember what. In the meantime, I sat up and checked myself over.
And Galen came back holding a box.
“What’s that?”
“Miniature paintings, Sabriel. Your ‘proof’. There is one done of every ruler. This is our mother, look.”
Okay, I looked. I took the painting, stared, and then stared some more. “B-but… tha-that’s m-me.” I was starting to shake now. Apart from hair color and eye color and age, the painting was of me. An older me trying to smile, but beyond that, what convinced me was the look in her eyes. It was a look I had seen in mine.
“That is our mother, the Queen Evangeline Zoquii Xavian.”
Did I look like I was going to faint again? I must have, because Galen looked worried. Mizuiro looked like she was preparing to catch me if I fell forward.
With trembling hands, I set the painting down. Unseeing, I stared ahead of me. I wasn’t thinking, I wasn’t bombarded with feelings, I didn’t comprehend… “Oh, God…”
“Yes.” Mizuiro placed her hand on my knee. I looked at it, and then back up at her.
“Oh God… What… What now? I’m… here and…” I waved my hand, and cleared my throat. Still no feeling, how odd, but something to be thought about later.
“Come here.” Mizuiro took my hand. I stood up and followed her to the window. “Look there, at those trees.” She pointed at the forest Griffin and I had come through, or maybe one that looked just like it. “That is the border between Xeniasasa and Dagnae. Dagnae is being pressed back, Sabriel. It will be taken over if something isn’t done.”
“What can…? What can I do? I’m just… I’m no ruler.” I looked over at Mizuiro, helpless. Mizuiro looked back at me.
“But you will be one. You will stop the Mavnis, I’m sure of it. The soothsayer said it would be so, and it will be so.” Mizuiro smiled, and started to lead me towards a door. “Come, you must be exhausted. I will have my maid see to your comfort.”
I nodded; still feeling like someone had hit me over the head with a large stick. Maybe later I would feel… upset or something, but at the moment sleep sounded like a very good thing.
0O0
Mizuiro sat down in her chair with a sigh, hands clasped in her lap. “What do you think of her, Galen?”
The sea-man straightened his spine. “She seems… out of her depth, if you will, Lady Mizuiro. But she can be taught, it will just take time.”
“We don’t exactly have time. Send for Kiel, Galen, tell her I have a new cover. Sabriel will need a maid of her own, and rooms. I will see what sort of furnishings she will want, of course, but…” Mizuiro gestured. “I hope Kiel doesn’t mind.”
Galen’s voice was dry as he replied, “If it gets her out of the sight of assassins, I doubt she will care.”
Mizuiro smiled, a tired smile. She picked up the miniature painting of her mother, and sighed again. “I hope so, Galen. I really hope so…”
0O0
I met Kiel when she brought me breakfast in bed. After a night’s sleep I felt ready to handle everything, but it became obvious upon meeting Kiel that I wasn’t.
Kiel was a fox, you see.
“Oh God!” I fell out of bed, sheets tangled around my feet. Kiel paused- of course, I didn’t know who she was until later- and set the tray down on a conveniently nearby table.
“Is there a problem, milady?”
“I- oh you… teeth and… ears and… tail- get away from me!” I did my best to get away, realizing suddenly that things were started to break. Kiel was staring around at the room with amazement and I sighed. Almost at the same moment I locked down my runaway emotions, and my lips tightened. I did not, however, move from my undignified position on the floor.
“Milady, is there something wrong?” Kiel eyed me, vulpine mouth twisted slightly to the side.
When I said fox, I mean fox. She had something like human hands, but she also had fur and ears and a tail and didn’t dress like anyone else I’d seen. I think it was rabbit skin, but I couldn’t be sure.
“You’re a fox! And… you want to know if something’s wrong?” I waved my hand and then winced. Nothing had crashed…yet… but there was always the chance that if I didn’t calm down something bad would happen. “I wasn’t expecting…”
“Fur?” Kiel nodded. “I see. Lady Mizuiro did mention that you were raised far from Xeniasasa, though I had not imagined how far it truly was. Would you like breakfast on the floor or,” and she lifted an eyebrow, “would you prefer to be comfortable?”
I decided on comfortable, which is how I ended up back in bed, sheets tucked around me and a tray on my lap. And food. Kiel stood near the door, hands folded as she watched me eat. I didn’t feel comfortable, but maybe it was a fox thing.
“So, uh…” I poked at what I figured was an egg, or some kind of… rice, maybe? “What’s your name?”
“My name is Kiel, milady, and I am at your service.” Kiel pulled off some sort of curtsy with her rabbit-skin skirt, and I stared.
“What?” Was my mouth hanging open?
“I am your maid, milady.” Kiel eyed me. “Eat your eggs, please.”
I took a bite, thinking this new bit of information over. Did I need a maid? I asked, and got a smile in return.
“Every noble-bred maiden needs a maid. It’s the clothes, I’m afraid, they’re difficult to deal with alone.”
“Oh.” I finished my eggs and drank my juice, somehow feeling that my mother, the one who raised me, that is, was hovering over me while I was sick with the flu. If, you know, my mother had fur and called me ‘milady’. “Okay, I’m done, what now?” I was asking that a lot lately, wasn’t I? Did this mean something? Besides, you know, me not knowing anything.
“You stay there while I take care of this, and then I will get you your day’s clothes.”
I nodded, though really I didn’t have much of a choice as Kiel took the tray and left. For want of something to do, I started to look around. And realized that I didn’t know where I was, whose room I had taken, or… anything, really. I missed Griffin, and closed my eyes to remember the hug we had shared.
It was so vivid, I could almost feel the warmth of his arms around me, and I could smell the scent that hung around him… I fought against the lump in my throat. I missed him…
“Milady, how does this seem?”
I jumped, eyes snapping open. Kiel was holding a dress of light amber and dark gold trim. “Uh… it looks all right. I don’t really know about this sort of thing…”
“If you will come here?”
I slid out of bed and walked over. I flinched when Kiel helped me out of my shirt and jeans, which were definitely starting to smell. I shrank into myself until the dress was slipped over my head.
“A little large, I’m afraid, but it will have to do. At least the colors look well upon you.”
Okay… “Is there something important about today?” I blinked when Kiel knelt down to eye my feet, which were bare and cold on the stone floor.
“Yes… Here, try these slippers.” Kiel helped me into the slippers and nodded. “They fit well. Come, Mizuiro wishes to speak to you.”
I nodded, and then blanched. “I took her bed last night, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did. Milady, I hate to impose by suggesting you do something, but very few people find keeping Mizuiro waiting is a good idea.”
“Oh. Oh! Yes, all right.” I hurried for the door, but Kiel managed to somehow open it before I could try. Maybe it was the fact that I was unused to walking or running in a dress. It was certainly strange to me.
Mizuiro was sitting in the chair she’d had last night, and I wondered if she’d moved at all.
“Sabriel, did you have a good rest?”
I nodded. “Kiel said you wanted to speak to me?”
Mizuiro looked over my shoulder. “She did, did she? Well, that’s true enough. Please, sit down.” Mizuiro gestured at a chair across from her, which I took. “There are things we must do, Sabriel, to make you comfortable. For one thing, you need your own set of rooms.”
“I do?” My surprise must have shown through in my voice, because my face was carefully blank.
“Yes… Now, you could allow me to set them up, but I doubt you would like my choices.”
I nodded. “There is that…”
“So, today we go… What would you call it? Getting furnishings?”
“Furniture shopping?” Wow, I had a choice about what was going into my room? And I hadn’t been able to decide what backpack I got for school… this was going to be exciting! I just hoped that I didn’t break anything. That would have to be my goal for the day; don’t break anything.
“Yes, furniture shopping.” Oh yeah, conversation. “Would you prefer to do that now, or…?” Mizuiro waved a hand.
“Now, I guess.”
“Very well then, let’s go.” Mizuiro got to her feet and, after a moment, I followed.
0O0
Besides deciding that I liked dragons, liked things with dragons, and went almost nuts over candle-holders shaped like dragons, the shopping was uneventful. Actually, it was somewhat boring. My room would be ready for me ‘later that day’ which surprised me, actually. I must have said something to confuse Mizuiro, since she watched me as we ate lunch.
Or maybe it was something else, since she didn’t look at me as she said, “Mother wishes to see you after the noon meal.”
“Oh.” I set my spoon full of soup down into the bowl. ‘Oh’ seemed just about to cover it, quite well. “W-when? Where?”
Mizuiro smiled. “Half the hour after noon, in the throne room. There will be others there, so you must be careful of what you say. Courtiers are like poison from an adder’s tongue, and can lash you with words.”
I nodded. “All right… I’ll just have to watch myself.” In more ways then one. What if I were to lose my temper in a room filled with people? Even people who sounded like complete pigs? I would have shuddered, but concentrated instead on eating. I felt slightly queasy, but I would need the food. “How long until half the hour after noon?” The odd way of saying twelve-thirty was surprisingly easy for my tongue; it was actually hearing it in my voice that threw me off.
“We have time to finish our meal. Kiel will see to anything that needs be done. I will see to your rooms.”
Oh yeah… I’d almost forgotten.
I attempted a smile, and stared at my soup.
0O0
“Remember, milady, your breeding is twice as good as theirs.”
With that… helpful piece of advice, Kiel opened the door for me and I walked through.
Almost instantly I was seen and stared at. There was a moment of silence and then the sound of whispers ran through the room. I almost flinched, but held onto my blank expression. Sometimes, such as that moment in time, it was almost worth all the practice I’d had suppressing my emotions. I allowed myself a moment of looking around the room, noting the people and dismissing them. Or ignoring them, actually.
Only one person did I pay attention to. She sat on a throne, chin up and eyes on me. I walked forward a few steps and attempted a small curtsy. How was I supposed to greet this woman, my mother, my blood, a person I felt no connection to at all? Except… our faces…
My cheekbones were mirrored in her face, or vice versa. My chin was slightly rounder, perhaps, and my nose not so strong, but there was no doubt who she was. Who I was. How we were related.
A few scattered, hastily smothered laughs met my attempt, but no one came right out and laughed. Not obviously, any way.
“Sabriel.” The Queen, my mother, spoke.
“M-mother.” Hopefully I didn’t stutter through everything I said. I dared to walk a little bit closer, suddenly curious about this woman. I wanted to get to know her, understand why she had sent me away… had she sent me away? That was the impression I'd gotten, but what if I’d been kidnapped or… No, if I’d been kidnapped, she would have tried to take me back… wouldn’t she?
“It is… good to have you back.” Maybe she was worrying about how I felt. Did she want me to like her? Did she care?
“It is good to be back, mother.”
Did… did I care? About… her?
I thought of Griffin, ordered not to stay with me once here in the castle, ordered not to answer my questions. And I wondered… why?
