Chapter 42
Seda
The sound of birds chirping woke Seda as she looked around the room. Her head throbbed from drinking mead the night before, and the rising chirping seemed to press against her temple. Maybe mead and her didn’t mix so well.
At some point during the night, Kalon left the house, leaving her alone. She glanced over at the partially open door. She wondered if anyone else had entered the small home or if he had just left the door slightly ajar.
There was a knock at the door, and Seda sprang up. “Come in,” she called to whoever was on the other side. She winced as it felt like her brain was throbbing from the movement.
At least they knocked while the door was open.
With her mushroom crown hanging loosely on her head, Lucja walked in carrying a tray of food for her. “Good morning, dear. Thought you might like some food after all that mead last night. You were not feeling too hot there at the end.”
“Thank you, Lucja. I really appreciate all of your hospitality,” Seda said to her. She had never in her life been treated so sweetly by strangers. This small woman invited her into her home, threw a party, let her drink mead for the first time in her life, and was now bringing her breakfast in bed.
“Oh, I do wish you had fun,” Lucja responded, her face brightening at the compliment. “We never get travelers here. And it has been so long since we got to host a party.”
Seda sat at the edge of the bed and accepted the tray of food. Her eyes widened as she saw the plate loaded with fresh berries, pancakes, jam, and fried eggs. “I’ve never had a feast like this before in my life, Lucja! This looks amazing!”
“Dig in, sweetie. Best while it’s still hot.”
Seda immediately dove into her plate of food, starting with the pancakes. “Yummm,” she moaned as the flavors hit her tongue.
She loved how the butter melted in her mouth, its taste and texture unlike anything she’d ever had before. This breakfast was a completely new experience, and she’d heard that people in Cascade often enjoyed meals like this.
It wasn’t fair that they were so lucky.
Seda took another bite of her food, and Lucja smiled brightly at her. Her peachy cheeks lit up her happy face.
Now that Seda could see the room fully illuminated by the filtered daylight, she examined the space more closely. Her eyes fixed on a painting of what seemed to be young twin boys hanging crookedly on the wall.
Lucja saw her staring at it and said solemnly, “That’s father and his brother.”
Seda studied the painting. Something so oddly familiar about the young boys stood out to her, but she couldn’t place it.
“Is his brother here?” Seda asked her.
“No. My uncle left our world a long time ago. My dad doesn’t mention him anymore,” Lucja replied.
“Oh! I almost forgot, we might have some clothes that would fit you, but they might not be the right size. I noticed you didn’t bring any other clothes when you arrived, and you’re wearing that worn-out dress.
” Lucja looked at her dirty garment. “Sorry if that was too blunt, but a lady should have clothing without holes. We once had a Vatte who was five feet two inches tall. How tall are you?”
“Five-six,” she answered as she looked down at her gross gown.
“Well, we can try. If not, I can magically adjust it to fit depending on the material. No harm in trying. Let me find those, and then you can try them on. Please find me when you come out of here. I’ll likely be near the coffee pot, recovering from the mead myself.”
Lucja left the room and closed the door behind her.
Slowly, Seda finished her plate of food, scraping up every last bit of blackberry jam with her fingers and licking them clean.
She stood up, set the plate aside, and reached into her other pocket, the one without the cloth, for the chewable datun to clean her teeth.
She picked up her plate again and walked out of the house to find where to place her dirty dish, locate her friends, change the cloth in her underwear, and find Lucja for the clothing.
She spat out the datun as she approached a small woman washing dishes in the stream with her magic.
The woman graciously accepted the plate and placed it into the cool, flowing water.
She gave Seda a slight nod and asked how she slept.
They exchanged polite small talk, and when Seda asked, the woman offered her a bar of soap for her hands.
Seda left the area feeling welcomed and accepted by the community. She strolled along the stream until it hit the edge of town, then slipped behind a tree to switch out the cloth in her underwear. Afterward, she washed the dirty ones in the water, pocketed them again, and washed her hands.
She looked around and saw Elco asleep with Orion leaning up against a small home. She walked over to him, and he lifted his head at her.
“There you are, my moon-flutter.” His eyes sparkled at her sleepily.
“I see you’ve made another friend.” She nodded toward Orion, who was using Elco’s long, silky mane as a blanket.
“I really like this one. Orion reminds me of the innocence of my kin’s younglings.” Elco looked down at Orion, and a quiet purr came from his throat. “I saw you went to bed last night with Kalon following. How was that?”
Seda’s cheeks turned red at the insinuation. “Nothing big happened, Elco,” she lied. “He’s just my friend.”
“Just your friend, the same as Cahir is?” he asked.
Seda looked down at her hands and nervously shifted her feet.
She felt foolish. Cahir, or rather, Ael, would have been upset with Seda for allowing or even seeing another man enter her sleeping area and for kissing him.
She also thought about how she had fallen asleep wishing it were him there last night, not Kalon.
“No, not like Cahir,” she admitted.
“What is Cahir to you?” he pushed.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. Cahir was my best friend for years, and he was the only one I had for a long time.
He was also my very first friend. He always treated me with kindness and respect.
But now I’m confused, Elco. He betrayed my trust by lying to me, but I still miss him so much.
” Her voice hitched. “And I don’t know what to do. ”
She rubbed her eyes, attempting to prevent the tears from falling.
Elco hummed thoughtfully. “We must get you to Umbrea so you two can communicate. And in the worst-case scenario, at least you could have closure. I would suggest not rushing into anything else until you know how your heart feels after.”
He looked at her with gentleness in his red-glowing eyes. She sat beside him and Orion and snuggled into his mane as well. His purr vibrated against her body.
“I’m really fond of it here. I’ll stick with you through this, Seda. I’m yours, and I’ll do my best to make sure you have everything you need. But I do wish we could stay,” he said to her as he looked down at Orion.
She turned and hugged him, saying into his silky fur, “You deserve all the happiness.”
“No, Seda, I do not. I’ve done many horrible things. I do not deserve to live in peace or remain with these kind people before us, despite my wishes.”
Seda disagreed, knowing Elco had a kind heart and that his experiences at the Camp weren’t his fault—he had to eat to survive.
They sat in silence, listening to Orion snore. Lucja approached, holding a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and a pile of clothing in the other.
“Oh, look, there’s Orion! And Seda, I’ve found some clothes for you to try. Would you like to come back with me to the house?” she asked.
Seda said goodbye to Elco and followed Lucja, who carried the clothing in her arms. When they entered the room, she placed the items on the bed and looked at Seda intently as she examined her body. “We can make this work, dear. I will need to modify a bit, but this will do.”
“Which do you suggest first?” Seda asked as she looked through the earth-tone clothing options.
“Well, I would suggest a dress for a beautiful lady like yourself, but since you’re on foot through these woods, pants might be a better choice.
” She held up a pair of light brown pants and a matching top with laces up the front.
She noticed Seda’s hesitation. “Don’t worry, dear, I will turn around, and the door is locked. No one will come in.”
When she turned around, Seda removed the scratchy dress she wore and pulled the pants up her legs. They were a little tight and reached her mid-calves. She then tightly laced the top and sighed with relief, glad to have her breasts supported. “I’m ready.”
Lucja turned around and smiled. “Already much better. Let’s fix those pants.
” She waved her hands through the air, and the natural material of the pants elongated, with weaving fibers surrounding her calves and extending to her ankles.
The pants also stretched slightly, and Seda took a deep breath, feeling she could breathe more easily in them.
“Now for shoes,” Lucja said.
“Oh, no, I’m okay without shoes,” she said.
She enjoyed the sensation of her bare toes in the dirt she had been walking through.
“The terrain north of here becomes icy and rocky. Are you sure?”
Seda reconsidered; the idea of losing her toes to frostbite or slicing them on sharp rocks sounded horrible. “What do you have?”
Lucja walked into a small closet and pulled out a pair of men’s lace-up boots that would reach Seda’s mid-calf. “These might actually be big on you. They used to belong to my husband. He is now with the Mother Goddess, bless his heart, and I know he would love to see them used again.”
Seda thanked her and pulled them on.
“Hmm, leather I cannot modify as it does not grow from the ground. Do the boots fit okay, dear?” Lucja asked.
They were a bit big on her, but not overly so. She nodded and thanked her again. Then they both left the house and went their separate ways.
She caught sight of the Corvids circling overhead and then glanced over at Benny and Askold, who were sitting by a small campfire. She made her way over to them.
Benny caught sight of her and turned red. “So, uh… how was your night?”
“Not as eventful as yours.” She poked his shoulder and grinned.
Just as Benny was about to speak, his mouth dropped open, and Askold burst into laughter. “Benny’s shacking up in the birdhouse,” he said.
Benny closed his mouth and blushed. “Zero regret,” he finally said and shrugged.
“Nice outfit, Seda!” Askold said, eyeing her approvingly. “Sweet boots. I would wear those. No more hitching rides from strong men, huh?”
Seda laughed. “No more hitching rides.”
She also wasn’t comfortable asking Kalon to hold her again after what had happened the night before.
“I think we should gather everyone and see about heading out soon,” Benny suggested.
Seda and Askold nodded, and the three of them walked off to find the others. They found Ojore wrestling with two Vatte behind some trees. They were attempting to jump on him from behind, and he was maneuvering around them, showing them how to defend themselves.
“Ojore! We leave in fifteen minutes,” Benny shouted, and Ojore saluted back before being tackled to the ground by the Vatte.
They gathered the others, except Kalon, and talked about their plan to move further north.
“Has anyone seen Kalon?” Ferona finally asked. Seda’s mind kept drifting to him, but she didn’t want to be the one to ask. “We have circled the area multiple times, and he is nowhere outside.”
They all looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
Where could Kalon have gone? Is he in another house?
She wouldn’t hold it against him for wanting to sleep somewhere else.
“He was in my room last night, sleeping on the floor,” Seda made sure to include, purposely leaving out the kiss, “and when I woke up this morning, he was gone. I’ve not seen him since.”
They found Vidar and Lucja and asked if they knew whether Kalon was in any of the homes.
“I last saw him around 3 a.m., walking south of town with something that sparkled in the light as he moved,” Vidar said. “I’m not sure where he headed. Maybe he was looking for a private spot to take a bathroom break?”
Without hesitation, Seda raised her hands to her neck to check for the chain, but she found nothing. She frantically unlaced the top of her shirt, and Askold exclaimed, “Whoa, there, Seda! Keep those laces on, please. For our own safety from a jealous king.”
She looked at him angrily. “My necklace is gone!”
“What necklace?” Askold and Ojore asked at the same time.
“MY NECKLACE! The one I’ve had since I was a child. It sparkles!” The men looked at each other in confusion.
“Are you sure you didn’t leave it in the house when you got dressed?” Benny asked.
Seda ran back to the house and flung open the door, letting it slam shut behind her. She searched everywhere for it. She couldn’t remember taking it off last night, but she also didn’t remember having it or seeing the sparkles light up the room when she changed not long ago.
Feich was the first to burst through the doors. “Did you find it?” he asked her while frantically looking around for it. The others also piled into the room.
“No! Last night we kissed, and I pushed him away. But I felt him run his fingers along my chain.”
Feich’s eyes widened as he continued helping Seda look for the moonstone necklace.
“Do you think he took it?” Benny asked.
“Yes! He took it, Benny!” She ground her teeth together, and rage bubbled through her veins. Her hands glowed, illuminating the room.
Kalon stole my necklace.
Why would he do that?