Excerpt: Jewels of Corus: Valeisha

Chapter Four: New Haven

For all that Valeisha knew, she was dead.
There was nothing for some time. Only a sense that somewhere, somehow, she floated through space and time, unmindful of exactly how long things had been this way. Images flitted through her dream consciousness, bits and pieces of conversation that made little sense found its way into her ears. She had often heard stories of people who had thought they died and traversed the realms of the dead. If this emptiness was that place, Vali decided it was very boring indeed.
Slowly, very slowly, the air around her warmed. The nothingness in which she floated lightened, then settled into images that remained more pronounced than they had previously. Suddenly, the dream – if it was indeed a dream – became solidly real, and Vali found herself standing on the edge of what looked like a battle field. The sky to the west glowed red and the valley before her lay strewn with bodies. Humans, horses, with their banners flapping forlornly all lay broken across one another. The sight was absolutely revolting.
“You must prevent this.”
The timeless voice should have made her jump. Vali certainly had not heard anyone approach her. As it was, she turned to face the speaker as she would anyone else and was surprised.
A gaunt man (it was impossible to tell his age) stood to her right clothed only in a black robe that whispered of shadow. A hood hid most of his features, though Vali could see his eyes. They were black and bottomless, much like the nothingness from which she had just returned.
“Ganiel?”
The Dream King did nothing to neither confirm nor deny the question, merely gazed squarely down at the girl.
Vali was confused. If she was dead, why did the Keeper of Dreams speak to her? “This?” she asked after a time, motioning to the dead before them. “But this could be anything.”
At this, Ganiel shook his head. “It is not,” he replied. “The wheel of fate has yet to be turned. It can be prevented.” He gazed once down at the field. The silence of that place became oppressive and Vali was suddenly jumpy with the thought that anyone could approach under the cover of that silence and she would never know it.
“And how, pray tell, is a girl child supposed to prevent a war?” Vali folded her arms over her chest. “Seems to me you gods would find someone else to do your bidding if it’s really that important.”
“There is no other.” Ganiel turned from her to step nearer the field, and then opened his arms wide. The cloak spread out from his figure, and the vast emptiness enfolded the scene, sending the dead as well as Vali into a turbulent mist.
“The fate of all hangs in the balance, Valeisha Miller.” Ganiel’s voice rang in the girl’s head, every word sounding like that of a bell at midnight. “How and when will come to you in time. I merely thought you would like the warning.”

Vali fell into her body with something of a jolt. Voices came to her ears; new ones that had none of the Dream King’s power or timeless quality. These were softer, much more human, and decidedly female.
And it appeared that they were talking about her.
“Has she awakened?”
“Not yet, my lady.”
So. The second voice deferred to the first one. Interesting. Perhaps it was time to try opening her eyes. Vali had questions that needed answers, and she also had absolutely no idea what time of day or night it was.
“She should waken soon,” said the first voice again. It sounded concerned. “It’s already been three days—”
“Water—” she croaked. When she tried opening her eyes, all Vali saw was a giant blur as light infiltrated her vision for the first time in several days. It made her flinch. Her mouth felt dryer than old parchment. The girl ran a swollen tongue over cracked lips and tried again. “Please. Water…”
At her first sign of movement, the two women in the room busied themselves with her care. One, a young woman who looked as though she were in her mid twenties, wore the simple brown over gown and apron of a servant. Vali squinted as this lady bent over the bed and slipped a strong arm under the girl’s shoulders, helping her move into a sitting position. Another woman – older and rather well dressed – approached with a wooden cup in one hand. She smiled.
“Welcome back.” Her voice was soft and low, the kind of voice that put fears at ease and invited rest for those who were weary. She sat on the opposite side of the bed from her maid and held the cup up to Vali’s lips. “Drink,” she commanded. “Too much longer and we would have lost you.”
Much as she tried holding the cup on her own, Vali was simply too weak to even hold up her arms. Her lips parted obediently and the scent of apple spice reached her nose just as deliciously sweet coolness washed over her parched tongue. Greedily Vali drank the cider. When she finished that cup, the elder woman held another to her lips. This one was filled with water sweetened with just a touch of nutmeg. Once that cup was empty, the maid wiped the girl’s chin with the corner of her apron and gently laid her back down onto the pillow.
Vali wanted to protest. She still had to find Sprite, and who knew where she was or what kind of trouble she would be in once her parents found her…
“I know you have questions,” began the nicely dressed lady. “But let me introduce myself. I am Narianna, wife to Duke Owen of Greenscove.” Lady Nari smiled again and gestured to the other woman. “This is Tian, my maid. You are in New Haven.”
“New… But, my lady…” Vali struggled against her weakened body. Everything rebelled, sending her almost to frustrated tears. Nari saw her distress and returned to her seat at the edge of Vali’s bed.
“Hush,” she murmured. Laying a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder, she kept her from rising. “You’ve been ill. I know you’re confused and frightened too, I should think. But you must trust me.”
Regaining her composure, Vali really looked at the woman before her. She could not have been more than forty years old, but her hair was already snow white. She wore it pulled into a loose bun, stylishly functional, and held it in place with what looked like two long sticks that crossed in the back. It was a style Vali had never seen before. Her cheeks were high, though a bit flat, and she had very slightly almond shaped green eyes.
Nari took in the girl’s appraisal with amusement. “My great-grandmother was Yamani,” she said simply.
“Oh…” That made sense, Vali thought. At least it explained the shape of her eyes. “But, my lady,” she began once she had calmed a bit. “I don’t understand. What happened? And where’s my pony?”
“Ahh… The little strawberry?”
“Yes!” In her excitement, Vali nearly did sit up on her own. “You’ve seen him? Who found him? Is he all right?”
The Duchess of Greenscove laughed. “So many questions!” She smiled and patted Vali’s shoulder. “I believe he wandered here of his own accord two days ago. Don’t worry. The hostlers have a nice stall for him in the stables. You may see him as soon as you’re ready to walk.”
Just the fact that Sprite was okay was a relief in and of itself. But there was one thing that didn’t make sense…
“Two days? How long have I been here? How long was I out?”
At this, Lady Nari glanced over at Tian, who kept her eyes down. “You were brought in by a scout unit three days ago. You were drenched to the skin, and we nearly lost you to hypothermia.”
Vali sat back as images from before her black out slowly came back to her. She had been looking for Sprite along the river, and then… Stormwings.
“There were stormwings…” she began softly, still lost in thought.
Again, the two woman traded looks. Neither one smiled now. “We had thought to get answers of our own once you’d woken,” said Tian. “The men who brought you in were rather vague on the details.”
Stormwings. Stormwings. There was something important about them, something fundamental to the matter at hand. Slowly, bit by agonizing bit, the events of that afternoon came back to her.
“They…attacked me for some reason,” she mused aloud. “And said something about the village.” Vali looked up and glanced between the two women. “But why would stormwings have interest in the village?” And why wasn’t Mama here screeching her displeasure?
There was silence, true silence, in the room for the first time since Vali regained consciousness. The girl looked from one woman to the other, slowly growing more uncomfortable as neither one spoke. “My lady…?”
Lady Nari cleared her throat and set her gaze once again on the pale girl in the bed. She tried to smile, though it did not make her eyes. “There was a bandit raid on the village the night after you came to us,” she began gently. “A few survivors have taken lodging here in town.”
The realization of what was being said took some time to fully dawn on Vali. Her head shook, as if by denying the reality of what she had just heard, she could change what she knew in her heart to be true.
“My sister,” she began, the words tumbling through pale, numb lips. “My parents…”
“There is a little girl with your eyes staying with one of our fur merchants,” replied the Duchess. “I believe she may be your sister.”
Hope, mingled with a distant grief, overwhelmed the girl. It was too much. Too many things that bombarded her system and her emotions. Tired, frustrated, and angry tears filled her eyes, and one slowly trickled down her pale cheek.
“Hush,” the lady said gently. She laid a cool, dry palm to Vali’s cheek, then to her forehead. “Sleep, child. For now, you are safe.”
Numbness that had nothing to do with grief or her previous hurts clouded the edges of Vali’s mind, and however unwillingly she may have been at first, she gave in to the blessed embrace of a dreamless sleep.