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Light Fingers - Chapter 2 - Escape
Ivoreth’s senses took their time to resume their function. There was a soft hum of voices some distance away that sounded as if it were coming through a closed door. Her arm was now bound to her chest, but the bindings weren’t painfully tight, only enough to hold her arm in place. She tried to swallow away the sour, coppery taste, but ceased when doing so made sore cheeks ache – although not with the grinding pain from before. She could feel the gentle press of a bandage covering her nose and wrapping around the back of her head. She was warm, dry, and as comfortable as she could be with the hurts she’d been given. And she could open her eyes now, managing only a mere slit – but anything was better than the nothing that had come before.
What she could see in the half-light was a room richer than anything she’d ever seen in her life. Another empty bed sat against an opposing wall, covered with a clean, well-mended and warm-looking blanket over a white fabric brighter than any Ivoreth had ever seen. Between the two beds was a small cabinet that held a plain porcelain pitcher and basin, a lit candle that burned in its holder with very little smoke or soot, and a short stack of folded material. The walls that surrounded her were of stone, and a window stood open across the room, beyond which all was dark.
What is this place? Why am I here?
In a chair next to her sat a person completely outside of Ivoreth’s experience. His long legs stretched out comfortably into the empty space before him, richly clothed arms folded over a solid chest, and shining black hair flowed long and free except where braided back from either side of his face. His face was pale and smooth, with no sign of even a shadow of the beard worn by all the other men she’d ever seen.
Is this a prison guard? Where is his armor?
Wait! She’d seen such as him once before, but only at a very great distance, on the day the King had returned to the White City. Those who could only have been his kin had been among the great folk surrounding the new King and his Lady, not in the crowds that lined the way. What was such a one doing here, sitting next to her bed?
Ivoreth shifted slightly so she could see his face better, and her movement brought expressive grey-blue eyes open to gaze at her.
With a gentle smile, the man bent toward her slightly. “You’re awake at last!” It was the musical voice that she remembered from the very depths of her recent nightmare – a voice that had tried to comfort. The grand man moved closer still. “How do you feel?”
Ivoreth’s mind was rapidly clearing of the cobwebs – and her previous desperation began to seep back.
I need to get out of here! How long have I been here?
The man’s face didn’t change, despite having had no answer to his question. “Who is your adar and naneth, little one? How can we find them to tell them where you are and what has happened to you?” The grey-blue gaze was sharp; Ivoreth could tell that he was aware that she heard and understood him and yet refused to answer.
Da warned me. If I tell them Nan and Da are gone, they’ll want to throw me into that orphanage place! Da said they need slaves to do the work, but they just call them “prenticks’” or some other such to make it sound better. No matter how sweet it might sound, it’s all a trick.
There was no way Ivoreth was going to tell this grand person that her Nan had died a few months after Raini was born, or that her Da had probably been under one of the siege’s flaming balls that had landed directly on the inn where he worked. When everything had calmed down again, she’d gone looking for him – just like so many others in the City had done. All that remained of the inn was the stone front and walls. Everything within was burned away, and she’d never seen her Da again. She stared back at the man, trying desperately not to give any sign of weakness or fear. And the longer she looked at him without even attempting an answer, the more concerned those beautiful grey-blue eyes became.
“Do you not trust me then?” he asked at last in a soft and disappointed tone.
She wanted to – oh, how she wanted to! Something in that voice reached out and brushed comfort against her very soul, telling her that everything was going to be all right – but she couldn’t trust it. She didn’t dare. Da had told her often enough, and her own experiences with grand folk had reinforced the lesson that none of them could be trusted to do more than kick or push her down. She was dirt to them. Besides, Raini’s and Daren’s very lives depended on not listening to anyone or anything else. She had to get back to them – and soon.
The grand one rose, in a motion that was so smooth, powerful and graceful that Ivoreth couldn’t help but hold her breath in awe and stare. He walked to the door, which opened easily – proof that it wasn’t locked – and spoke in quiet words to someone outside. When he then turned back to her, it was with a gentle smile on his face. “I told them to bring you some food,” he stated and seated himself on the bed next to her. He reached out to very carefully pull her into a sitting position leaning against him for a moment while he rearranged the pillow, then eased her back against the soft cushion to sit up comfortably. “You look as if you haven’t eaten for a while.”
This is wrong. I don’t belong here in this fancy place.
Ivoreth finally was in a position to look down at herself – and her mouth dropped open at the sight of the fine white linen shirt that covered her arms and chest. Her thin fingers cautiously touched the weave of the cloth, and Ivoreth wondered that anything that thin and fine could make her feel warm. Again she looked up at the grand one, thoroughly confused.
Da never said the orphanage would be like this. Where am I?
“You’re safe, child,” he replied, as if he could read the questions in her eyes. “You’re in the Houses of Healing, safe from those who tried to harm you.”
The Healing Houses? But Da said they weren’t for folk like us!
The door opened, and a young woman in a plain grey gown came into the room carrying a tray. Ivoreth’s mouth began to water from the delicious scents that came from the tray, which was placed on her very lap and then uncovered. Two whole slices of bread – thick and white with a golden crust – lay on a white porcelain plate next to a bowl with a dark liquid that was the source of the wonderful smells. Another smaller plate held two slices of cheese, with another small plate holding some sort of sliced fruit.
Ivoreth’s stare moved in disbelief from the contents of the tray to the grand one, who nodded his thanks to the woman and carefully unwrapped a small square of cloth from around a metal knife and spoon. “Come now,” he urged, tucking the fabric into the neck of her shirt and frowning slightly at the way Ivoreth pulled away from the touch, “Eat something. You’ll feel better.” He dipped the spoon into the rich looking liquid and brought it to her lips. “Try it.”
As if mesmerized, Ivoreth opened her mouth obediently and then closed her eyes in pure bliss at the explosion of taste. She could remember her Nan making something similar but not half as tasty, back when they had had a small hut with a cooking fire; but it had been years since she’d tasted anything like it. When she felt the touch of the spoon on her lips again, she quickly reopened her eyes as well as her mouth. “Is it good?” the grand one asked kindly.
She nodded and opened her mouth again expectantly as the spoon was again dipped into the liquid. “You’re like a baby bird,” the man chuckled, the warmth in his voice again reaching inside her and soothing her fears. “Here – try it yourself.” With gentle fingers, he arranged Ivoreth’s hand on the spoon and guided it from bowl to lips. It only took a couple of tries before Ivoreth remembered what her Nan had taught her – and in very little time, she had finished the last drop by herself and shyly handed the spoon back to him.
“Try some bread, child.”
Ivoreth looked longingly at the thick slabs of white bread and the cheese not far from it. “Go ahead – it’s your meal,” the great one’s musical voice urged again.
I wish Raini were here – this is what she needs. This and medicine.
She reached for one of the slices with a show of reluctance she didn’t really feel, and then slipped a slice of cheese on top of it before taking a small bite. The bread was soft and warm, with a scent she would only smell when passing by the bakery near the City Gate early in the morning filled her nose. The mellow tang of the cheese went well with the bread, which tasted every bit as good as fresh bread had ever smelled. Ivoreth filled her mouth with a larger bite, and then began to cram the entire slice of bread in all at once, before it could be taken away from her.
“Slowly, child, or you’ll choke,” the man cautioned with another chuckle. Ivoreth’s eyes opened as wide as the swelling around them would allow, and her now-empty hands dropped back into her lap and then folded around her chest defensively. She eyed the remains of the food on the tray longingly, chewing slowly so that the action of eating would last just a little longer.
Is he going to take it away now?
Huge hands reached for and then covered hers as the great man leaned forward. “No, no, little one, you misunderstand me. This is all yours. Just don’t try to eat so much at once that you can’t swallow and choke.” The brilliant grey-blue eyes gazed into hers with an expression that once more begged wordlessly for her trust.
Ivoreth closed her eyes against the onslaught of feelings she had neither the right nor the luxury to allow. Her belly was more content now than it had been for days, and having to be around one who was both beautiful and completely beyond her was becoming tiring. He confused and frightened her – such folk as he was never kind and nice to street brats like her. She didn’t dare relax.
Maybe, if he thinks I’m asleep, he’ll go away – and then I can find a way out of here.
She felt a gentle touch brush her hair back from her forehead, and then the weight of the tray lifted from her legs. “Very well, little one,” the musical voice sighed. “Rest. I’ll set the rest of this here for you for when you awaken later.” She felt rather than saw him rise, and then the chair next to the bed creaked as if it once more bore the weight of someone sitting.
The room subsided into a calm silence. The sounds of the City coming to rest in the depths of night floated through the open window, broken by the rich chime of the Citadel bell calling the curfew. Just as Ivoreth was beginning to think of opening her eyes again to see if the grand one still sat guard next to her, she heard the door open. “Lord Elladan? You asked to be reminded of your appointment in the Citadel.”
Ivoreth felt the air move as the man rose from the chair again and bent over her as she lay quietly, barely breathing, pretending sleep. He murmured something into her ear in a language she didn’t understand and then stepped back. “You should probably call the warden of the City orphanages,” he said in his melodic way - probably to the woman who had brought him his summons. “This little one needs a safe and warm place to sleep and good food to make her healthy again until we can return her to her people.”
Ivoreth had to work very hard not to gasp in horror. Here and the grand man had begged her to trust him – and now he was directing others to toss her away into the same hole her Da had ended up in all those years ago!
Da was right – fine folk can’t be trusted. I have to get out of here – NOW!
Heart pounding loudly in her ears, she forced herself to not make a single move or take a single gulping breath. The man thought her asleep – he needed to continue thinking that.
“Aye, my lord,” the woman agreed, equally softly, and then the sound of the door closing gave Ivoreth the clue that she was finally alone. She waited for another very long, quiet moment to make certain that another hadn’t been assigned to take over the watch at her side before she did anything she wouldn’t want them to see.
When she was finally convinced that she would be left to her own for a while, Ivoreth opened her eyes as wide as she could and pushed herself more erect with her undamaged arm. As the great one had promised, the tray with the remains of her meal sat on the little chest between the beds, once more covered with a small square of coarse linen. Ivoreth pushed the blanket back and dangled her legs over the edge of the bed – surprised to find it much higher up from the floor than she’d originally thought. The gown she was wearing was bunched slightly at her knees – but as she slid cautiously from the bed, it draped nearly to her ankles. Her feet were bare, and a quick check showed no sign of her old sandals anywhere.
First things first. She tiptoed to where the tray sat and quickly bound up the remnants of her meal in the square cloth that had covered it. That bundle she shoved into the bandaging that held her arm to her chest, where it would remain secure until she could bring it out again for Raini and Daren.
At least I can bring them something good to eat tonight. I’ll just have to think of something else to sell for Raini’s medicine. Wait a moment…
As an afterthought, she pinched out the flame on the candle and then tucked it and its holder securely into the bandaging with the food. If nothing else, she could find someone on
Next she reached up her left hand and worried at the bandages wrapped around her head. She couldn’t go out into the streets like this – the bandaging on her nose would make her stand out like a candle in the dark. It wasn’t easy to remove – and Ivoreth whimpered quietly to herself when her twisting made aching muscles in her back and shoulders begin to sing in pain again – but finally she was able to pull the thicker bandaging from her nose and toss it on the bed. Her nose felt heavy on her face, and a light touch was all it took to convince her to leave it completely alone.
But what to do about her clothes? The linen gown she wore would be like another bright candle in the dark, but she could half-way remember the sound of ripping cloth that told her that her former set of rags had probably been tossed in a trash heap somewhere. Turning, Ivoreth eyed the blanket that had been over her in the bed. It was of a darker material – one that would help her blend into the outer darkness, as well as keep her warm while she made her way back to the storm drain. Ivoreth wasn’t happy to find out that she would lose the use of her good hand and arm to the job of holding the folded blanket about her like a cloak, but there was little she could do.
She was ready now – all she needed was a way out. Taking a deep breath, she moved over to the open window and looked out – and began to feel as if her world was slowly righting itself again. She wasn’t in an upper floor of the building after all, but rather right next to a sweet-smelling garden. The light of the moon above showed that the ground outside was well within reach. She laid the blanket over the window ledge, sat on it, shifted her legs through the opening and then slid onto the soft grass. She pulled down the blanket from the window and wrapped it about her again with some difficulty. Ivoreth was ready at last to find the garden entrance and escape the Healing Houses.
She had never smelled such sweet flowers as those in the beds past which she walked as silently as she could. The moonlight shone down on some of them, and Ivoreth wished that she could take the time to gather a few to give a smile to Raini – but she pushed on. Working to stay in the shadows as much as possible, she had made almost a complete circle of the garden when a wooden gate presented itself, sheltered within the drooping leaves of a climbing vine-covered alcove. Ivoreth pushed – and bit back a cry of triumph when it moved open on nearly silent hinges.
Before her, the wide main street of the
I’m coming, Raini! Wait for me, Daren! Please be there, and be safe!
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