The swift spring evening was settling over the complex of Hold and Hall so there were very few passers-by. Piemur's physical presence and his chatter, blithely ignoring her silence, were more supportive than his bony shoulder, but she couldn't have made the walk without it. Menolly was grateful that she'd only the short flight of steps to go. The fire lizards chirped sympathetically at her from the window ledge outside her fast-shuttered room.
“You’re okay now, with them,” said Piemur, grinning up at the fire lizards. “I’ll dash off. You’ll be fine in the morning, Menolly, with a good night's rest under your ear. That’s what my foster-mother always told us.”
“I'm sure I will, Piemur, and thank you so much…”
Her words trailed off because he was dashing and out of earshot. She opened the door, calling tentatively for Dunca, but there was no answer, nor any sign of the plump cotkeeper. Grateful for that unexpected mercy, Menolly began to climb the steep steps, one at a time, pulling herself along the railing and taking as much pressure off her feet as she could. Halfway up, Beauty appeared, chirruping encouragement. Rocky and Diver joined her on the top step and added their comforting noises.
With a sense of utmost relief, Menolly closed the door behind her. She hobbled to the bed and sank down, fumbling with the ties of the sleeping furs, not really aware of the scratching on the closed shutters until Beauty let out an authoritative squawk. Fortunately, Menolly only had to stretch out her arm to open the shutters. Aunties One and Two fell in, catching themselves by wing just off the floor, scolding her soundly as they flew about the room. Lazy, Brownie and Uncle entered with more dignity and Mimic waddled to the window edge, yawning.
Menolly remembered to rub the salve on her feet, though they were so tender, tears jumped to her eyes. Briefly she wished that Mirrim was there, with her brisk chatter and gentle touch. Feet were indeed very awkward to tend yourself. She rubbed the other stuff into her hand scar,
restraining the urge to scratch the itching tissue.
She dipped out of her clothes and under the sleeping furs, only vaguely aware that the fire lizards were making themselves comfortable about her. Nothing to fear from harpers, huh? T’gellan's comment mocked her. As she fell deeply asleep, she wondered if envy was akin to fear?
Chapter 5
My nightly craft is winged in white;
A dragon of night-dark sea.
Swiftborn, dreambound, and rudderless;
Her captain and crew are me.
I sail a hundred sleeping tides
Where no seaman’s ever been
And only my white-winged craft and I
Know the marvels we have seen.
The next day did not start propitiously for Menolly. Her sleep was broken by shrieks: Dunca’s, the girls’, and the fire lizards’. Dazed, Menolly at first tried to calm the fire lizards swooping about the room, but Dunca, standing in the doorway, would not be quiet; and her terror, whether assumed or real, only stimulated the fire lizards into such aerial acrobatics that Menolly ordered them all out the window.
This only changed the tone of Dunca’s screams because the woman was now pointing at Menolly’s nudity until she could snatch up the discarded shirt and cover herself.
“And where were you all night?” Dunca demanded in a sobbingly voice. “How did you get in? When did you get in?”
“I was here all night. I got in by the front door. You weren’t in the cottage.” Then, seeing the look of complete disbelief on Dunca’s plump face, Menolly added, “I came here directly after supper. Piemur helped me across the court.”
“He was at rehearsal. Which was just after supper,” said one of the girls crowding in at the door.
“Yes, but he got there out of breath,” Audiva said, frowning, “I remember Brudegan rounding him on it.”
“You must always inform me when you come in,” said Dunca, by no means pacified.
Menolly hesitated and then nodded her head in acquiescence; it was useless to argue with someone like Dunca, who had obviously made up her mind not to like Menolly and to pick every fault possible.
“When you are washed and decently attired,” and the tone of Dunca’s voice suggested that she doubted Menolly was capable of either, “you will join us. Come, girls, There is no reason for you to delay your own meal.”
As the girls filed obediently past the open doorway, most of the faces reflected Dunca’s disapproval. Except Audiva, who winked solemnly and then grinned before she schooled her features into a blank expression.
By the time Menolly had attended to her feet, had a quick wash, dressed and found the small room where the other girls were eating, they were almost finished. As one, they stared critically at her before Dunca brusquely motioned her to take the empty seat. And as one, they all watched her so that she felt doubly awkward about the simple acts of chewing and swallowing. The food tasted dry and the klah was cold. She managed to finish what had been set before her and mumbled thanks. She sat there, looking down at her plate, only then noticing the fruit stains on her tunic. So, they had reason to stare. And she had nothing to change into while this top was washed, except her old things from her cave days.
Though she had eaten, she was still conscious of hunger pangs. The fire lizards were waiting to be fed! She doubted that Dunca would supply her need, but her responsibility to her friends gave her the courage to ask.
“May I be excused, please? The fire lizards must be fed. I have to go to Silvina…”
“Why would you bother Silvina with such a detail?” demanded Dunca, her eyes popping slightly with indignation. “Don’t you realize that she is the headwoman of the entire Harper Craft Hall? The demands on her time are enormous! And if you don’t keep those creatures of yours under proper control…”
“You startled them this morning!”
“I’m not having that sort of carry-on every morning, frightening my girls with them flying at such dangerous speeds.”
Menolly refrained from pointing out that it had been Dunca’s screaming that had alarmed the fire lizards. “If you can’t control them…Where are they now?” She looked wildly about her, her eyes bulging with alarm.
“Waiting to be fed.”
“Don’t get pert with me, girl. You may be the daughter of a Sea Holder, but while you are in the Harper Craft Hall and in my charge, you are to behave yourself. We’ll have no ranking here.”
Half-torn between laughter and disgust, Menolly rose. “If I may go, please, before the fire lizards come in search of me…”
That sufficed. Dunca couldn’t get her out of the cot fast enough. Someone sniggered, but when Menolly glanced up she wasn’t sure if it had been Audiva or not. It was a small encouragement that someone had recognized Dunca's hypocrisy.
As she stepped out into the crisp morning air, Menolly realized how stuffy the cot had been and glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, all the shutters, except her own, were closed tight. As she crossed the wide court she received morning grins and greetings from the farm-holders making their way to the fields, from apprentices dashing to their masters. She looked about her for her fire lizards and saw one wheeling down behind the outer wing of the Craft Hall. As she walked under the arch, she saw the others clinging to the kitchen and dining hall ledges. Camo was in the doorway, a great bowl in the crook of his left arm, a hunk of something dangling from his right hand as he tried to entice the fire lizards to him.
She was halfway across the courtyard before she realized that it was much easier to walk on her feet today. However, that was one of the few good things that happened. Camo was chastised by Abuna for trying to coax the fire lizards to eat when he should have been delivering the cereal to the dining hall (for the fire lizards would not eat from his hands until Menolly arrived). Then the fire lizards were frightened away when the apprentices and journeymen came tearing out of the dining hall, filling the courtyard with yells and shrieks and wild antics as they made their way to their morning classes. Menolly looked vainly for Piemur and then, as abruptly, the courtyard was clear. Except for some older journeymen. One of them paused by her, officiously demanding to know why she was hanging about the yard. When she said that she hadn’t been told where to go, he informed her that she obviously should be with the other girls and to get herself there immediately. As he gestured in the general direction of the archroom, Menolly assumed that was where the girls met.