Azriel gawked unashamedly in awe of the space she was in. It was breath-taking. Olive and mango trees dotted the courtyard as well as orange blossoms. The four corners of the courtyard had a garden made of crystal stones, with all sorts of cacti and vines growing around them. Around her the building's were built in a cascading fashion, getting taller and taller. Many splendoured birds and animals flew across, as well as more humans with wings like Wole and Ewol flitted across the courtyard in the sky.
The space seemed buzzing with activity as Fortress Irismus was aware of the attack.
"Lady Azriel?", a tentative voice asked.
She looked to her left to see a beautiful girl with slitted dark eyes, and dark hair standing next to her. The girl was dressed in simple white robes with a red sash across. Her hair was neatly plaited and tied with a red ribbon. Her cheekbones were high, she had a snubbed nose and her lips were a rosebud red. She had a smattering of freckles on her face. Oddly enough, there were whiskers extending from the base of her nose to her cheeks, reminding Azriel of a large tabby cat.
"I'm here to guide you to your rooms. Please come with me."
"Of course," Azriel said, "Where is everyone?"
"The Dragon Lord is on his way and will call a war council soon. Please freshen up and partake of some food."
Azriel nodded and whispered to the Book in her mind, "What did I do that was so bad?"
The Book hmmmmmed buzzed against her and then replied, "It is to be done....to be done....cannot be undone now.......from blood and pain and sacrifice will come the new world!"
Azriel felt the world darken around her as she heard the words. She suddenly felt weak and faint, as if life itself had leached out of her. The toll of the day finally hit her and she felt the world spin around. In a seconds, she fell to the ground and barely heard the girl screaming and strong arms grabbing her as everything went dark.
She awoke in a large bright room, high up in the Fortress. It had large oval windows with light sheers in white and pink fluttering in the wind. The walls were the same slate grey as the fortress, but decorated with the most wonderous pennants and pictures. Plush rugs in brilliant colours lined the stone floors. Crystal lights decorated the wall, with a beautiful chandelier in pink crystal hanging from the ceiling. A large black cat slept on the rug near her bed.
As Azriel stirred, the cat woke up as well and shook her limbs morphing back into the girl she had seen in the courtyard. Azriel looked at her in stupefaction as she grabbed her white robe from the chair and tied it around. She turned around and greeted Azriel with a smile, "Lady Azriel...are you feeling better?"
"I think so.....," she responded.
"Here, please drink this draught...it will make you feel better and stronger."
She handed Azriel a green liquid in a gold tumbler.
"It's for you to get your strength back, " she encouraged.
Azriel took a sip gingerly and realized it was truly delicious. Sweet and sour and tangy, yet refreshing and cooling.
She drank the whole glass and burped.
"Oops...sorry."
"That's ok...I'll lay your breakfast in the next room. There is a door on your right to the privy where you can freshen up. It has warm water and towels and new clothes as well. The Lord Dragon mentioned you like breeches so I have added one pair of those and a few dresses as well in the cupboard. I'll be happy to help you get dressed as well in case you need any help."
She bowed and left for the other room.
Azriel got up and refreshed herself. The privy was huge and had a tiny plunge pool, filled up with warm water and lined with rose petals. Even in Andora, Azriel had never seen such luxury. She sank into the pool with a sigh and felt all her soreness seep away. When the water was finally too cold to bear, she got up and dressed herself. She picked up the black leather breeches and black tunic with some amusement. She was now dressing like one of these Northerners itself. She wore the long boots that had been provided and made a slight face at the red sash. She was not a soldier of Irismus was she? Then she thought about it again. It was her new home and she would not like to anger or upset anyone, Ashdeer included. When she went out, the girl stood there with a comb and gestured to her to sit against a large dressing table. She took out a tortoise shell brush and comb and once her hair was brushed she said, "Would you like me to plait your hair for you. Most of the women here like that, but it's upto you."
"Go ahead", Azriel responded. "Also, what is your name?"
The girl smiled and her whiskers fluttered a bit, "Tara....my name is Tara."
Azriel smiled and said, "Nice to meet you Tara, now what's for breakfast?"