The Clutch of Sharys: Chapter Eleven
Chapter 11: The Price of Exertion
Thus those who remain had their pain twisted and used by the bitter Nepthys, desperately trying to capture its counterpart’s attention once more.
Cara was vaguely aware of things being poured into her mouth and warm arms lifting her and carrying her somewhere far away. She could faintly smell the scent of meadows and cold copper from whoever held her, the pain fading to a dull buzz as sleep crept over her limbs, washing out the red haze of pain and weighing down her eyes.
When next she awoke, Cara looked at a dull grey canopy lined with blue, a snuffling noise next to her head betraying her little dragon's position. Groaning, Cara tried to move and then paused, a wave of nausea and weakness holding her down. She felt like she had run a marathon while deeply sick, completely wet, and with no water. Every inch of her being felt sore and exhausted, the state of her body feeling even worse than after the Trial, a thing Cara hadn’t believed possible until now.
Refusing to let her body’s weakness keep her still, Cara gritted her teeth and struggled up onto her elbows before shakily pushing herself to a sitting position, her head swimming from the effort. On the bed next to her, the hatchling loudly squeaked in alarm, the sound of creaking hinges quickly replying as though waiting for such a disturbance. The familiar clicking of military boots on stone tiles rang in her ears as Keti entered the room, her hazel-green eyes flicking over Cara. The sound of the door closing was delayed slightly as another shuffling pair of footsteps as Helicity entered behind. The Kitisalian researcher wore different clothes underneath her brown wool coat, and her ashen-blonde hair remained messily thrown up into a bun on her head.
"I'm glad to see you're awake." Keti said, smoothing back one of Cara’s curls before she approached the end of the bed and sat neatly at its foot. "That was a definite shock you and the prince gave us, though not an unwelcome one."
A snort sounded from further off in the room, and Helicity dryly remarked, "I believe that would depend on who you asked, General. His Highness Prince Fane has been complaining about the new window in the western tower since yesterday." Keti's mouth drew a flat line at the researcher's words; her annoyance with the older prince that Helicity mentioned was evident.
"What happened?" Cara croaked, the words coming out a phlegmy mess. Coughing to clear her throat, Cara looked around for a flask or jug of water, quickly spotting the pitcher on the round wooden table by the bed. She was beginning to struggle towards it when the pitcher tipped forward slightly, a small piece of ice floating out and towards Cara.
"Just open your mouth." Keti ordered from near her feet, one slim finger directing the frozen water to bump into Cara's face. Shooting her sister the best irritated look she could muster with her limited energy, Cara accepted the ice, biting it out of the air and letting the cold slowly trickle down the back of her throat. "Fso wha happahn?" She asked again, the words garbling around the water in her mouth.
Cocking an eyebrow at the mutilated speech, Keti shook her head slightly, "You collapsed. A beginner’s case of overusing your power left you drained and lashed back physically on your body." Glancing over at the researcher who was making sounds like she was chucking fistfuls of paper everywhere, Keti added, "Or at least that's what I was told. I carried you back to the rooms Kelvin prepared, and the healers did their work to help assuage your symptoms."
Concerned, Cara quickly ducked her head up to examine her hands and the outline of her legs, searching for bandages or other signs that she had been hurt. "Oh, it's not as bad as all that." Keti clicked her tongue, eyes slightly softened as she watched Cara. "It's the worst hangover you'll ever have in your life, but you will not die from it." Cara met her gaze with a bit of a smile, remembering that all of their differences aside, she and her sister really did care for and love each other deep, deep, deep down.
The sound of rustling papers stopped as Helicity's disheveled head came into view, ruining the moment as she came in close, critically looking Cara up and down. "Well, you won't die this time. It's perfectly possible to burn yourself up in the future if you're foolish enough. Not that I would recommend it." Crunching down on the piece of ice in response, Cara lowered herself onto her elbow, slightly disturbing the little grey creature near her side.
The hatchling stirred slightly in response to her movement, sleepily opening and closing her little jaws before settling her head back down on her curled body. Swallowing hard, Cara looked to Helicity before glancing back down at her own hands, which were currently clenched around the blue blanket covering her legs. "So why didn't it work? My magic? I thought Queen rank dragons and their riders were supposed to be powerful."
"They are." Keti said at the same time as Helicity's soothing voice said, "It did." Looking up and between the two of them, Cara squinted her eyes slightly in confusion.
"Your magic worked just fine; it just didn't take the form many would expect." Helicity quickly explained, her expression kind.
"What do you mean it worked fine? I had to get help from another rider to get it to even do anything." Cara said, her tone blunt. She had no patience to beat around the bush for affirmations right now; she wanted the truth.
Cara waited for Helicity to contradict her statement or tell her she was wrong about her power, but the researcher tilted her head back and forth, lips pursed. "That's not entirely correct, but yes, you needed another rider to see what you were capable of."
Shaking her head, Cara tried to curb the rising wave of confusion and disappointment within her chest. "What does that mean then? How does that make sense?" She asked.
Helicity looked over at Keti; some quiet, wordless conversation communicated through a series of rapid expressions exchanged between them. Sighing, Helicity turned back to Cara, absentmindedly fidgeting with a lock of pale blonde hair. "It would seem," she began, clearly picking her words carefully, "That your magic presented itself best when you lent it to another rider's power via the medium of your element. If asked to guess, I would say that your power seems to be some sort of catalyst for transferring energy, which is quite a rare thing indeed, I might add."
As Cara opened her mouth to fire off a remark, Keti quickly held up a hand to silence her and said, "Let her finish." Twisting her lips shut in displeasure, Cara turned and waited for Helicity to continue, to which the Kitisalian researcher obliged.
"That doesn't mean by any measure that it's all you'll ever be able to do, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can harness your magic best when you're sharing it with other riders."
"That makes no sense!' Cara burst out, jolting forward slightly and waking up her baby dragon. "What kind of twisted, asinine interpretation is that?" She looked between them again, exasperated. "Lord Kastae? Illiana of Cetna? The bloody Sun Queen? All mighty Light aligned riders with high-ranking dragons and none of them reliant on others to do magic."
Pursing her lips once more, Helicity lightly tapped a finger on her crossed arms, expression thoughtful. "That is what it is, though, an interpretation." Looking at Cara, she continued, "It’s common knowledge that no two riders use magic exactly the same way or in the same form and that different nations have cultivated ways they can use it to affect the world around them. Like a fingerprint, your interpretation of Light magic will not look the same as someone like Lord Kastae, nor is it solely defined by its ability to bolster the power of other riders. There is no way to tell right now." Helicity stressed those last few words with a pointed look at Cara.
Cara nodded, listening to the words and flexing her fingers, releasing the handful of blankets she had clenched in them as she tried to rid herself of the tension. Seeing her hands freed up, the little grey dragon immediately head-butted her fingers, demanding reassurance after being so rudely awakened by Cara’s guests. "So I can't do anything on my own?" Cara asked softly, affectionately petting the little creature’s smooth scales.
"Not yet, at any rate, but your power will grow as your dragon does, revealing new ways for you to use it." Helicity replied, clearly relieved that Cara had listened to reason.
"It does, however," Keti cut in, her voice short. "make you highly valuable as an asset in combat. If you can replicate the level of power that you showed in the testing, you could become capable of completely changing the course of a battle." Cara shrugged, unable to take in what she was hearing or form any words amid her swirling thoughts and emotions.
Helicity clicked her tongue, roughly tapping Cara's forehead with the back of her hand before picking up her wrist and pressing a fingertip with one of her own. "Hm," the older woman remarked, watching the skin flush. "Well, no more talk of that right now. You need rest and growth before you can even think about traipsing off to the holy, exalted fields of shardcombat." Helicity’s voice was wry as she released Cara, who sank gratefully back against her pillows, swallowing the bile that rose in her throat.
The Kitisalian researcher turned her back, scribbling something down in the notebook she pulled from the pocket of her thick overcoat. "Can she go to the arrival of heirs this afternoon at least?" Keti asked voice tinged with doubt like she already knew the answer.
"I shouldn't think it a good idea in her current state, but I suppose if you strap her to your dragon like a half-crazed Farcan, that would work." Helicity's voice already sounded far away as she answered Keti's query while continuing to write.
Cara swallowed again, shooting a derisive look at the brown coated back. "You have a terrible bedside manner, you know." She grumbled, looking out the drawn velvet curtains towards the sunny skies.
"Well." Helicity remarked, snapping her notebook shut and striding across the room towards the papers Cara had heard her rustling with earlier. "It's a good thing, then, that I am not a healer." Nodding a farewell to the General, Helicity summarily left the room without further comment.
Turning back towards her sister, Cara found Keti staring at her with an inscrutable expression. "Whaaat?" Cara asked, drawing the word out in irritation. "No, it's nothing." Keti said, shaking her head and looking away before speaking again."I'm just proud of you. You did well, and you'll have a bright future ahead of you should you make the right choices."
Cara silently eyed her sister's profile, her thin nose and high cheekbones lit by the sun streaming in through the windows, catching in the long lashes that framed her pretty eyes. In this small moment, the preoccupation and stress that so often haunted her sister's countenance were gone. Her brow was relaxed, eyes losing their usual hazel intensity as the General momentarily melted back into the girl Cara remembered as her sister. She leaned forward slightly, reaching a hand out towards Keti only to have it immediately pushed away as her sister stiffened and stood up.
"Well, I'm sorry that you're going to miss the arrival of the heirs, but if it's any solace, you should be able to view it from here." Keti briskly remarked, straightening her coat and looking over at Cara. "Your presentation feast has been combined with the one for the heirs tomorrow evening, so rest up, and you should be able to attend." The General gently ruffled Cara’s curls, turned on her heel, and marched from the room, leaving Cara to sulk in her absence.
New riders were traditionally celebrated and presented to the monarch at a special feast in their honor, but it was all overshadowed by the pomp and splendor surrounding the succession. The lack of a fancy dinner and attention did not particularly bother Cara, but the fact that the number of people attending was vastly larger made her uncomfortable. Why the king couldn't have waited a few days was beyond her, but it was still frustrating that this had turned from something small into a full-blown court event.
A small series of squeaks reminded her of the hatchling crawling around on her bed, the creature currently attempting to tear apart one of the pillows. "Someone's hungry," Cara murmured, looking around the room as she detached the hatchling from the pillow and went to work gently prising the pillowcase from between its teeth. Angry at the loss of its prey, the hatchling instead decided that the ends of Cara’s long curls would have to do, engaging in a quick round of yank-and-swat.
Removing her hair from her dragon’s reach and throwing the thick mess back over her shoulder, Cara resumed her search for something to feed the baby dragon. Sitting on the table beside her bed was a globular lamp, the jug of water and a flower wrought out of black stone, a small chime set into the mouth of the blossom. This was, no doubt, how she was supposed to call for assistance, but Cara was too eager to savor her moments of solitude to strike the chime.
Placing a few fingers on the grey creature in her arms, she reached a hand out towards the warm yellow light of the lamp, pushing a small amount of energy into calling it. Beckoning with her mind and her fingers, Cara tried to pull the luminescence into her fingers, a small thrill running up her spine when the light began to flicker and grow, stretching towards her hand before snapping back, her energy still not recovered. She was startled when the door to her room swung suddenly open once more, jumping at the same time as the hatchling in her arms.
Bustling in with no mind towards the surprise she had caused was an older woman with dark brown hair neatly tied back from a round, pleasant face. Her eyebrows were darker than her hair and markedly shaved slightly short in the Kitisalian fashion that Helicity’s had been. "Sorry to bother my lady, but General Myzanti instructed me to bring you and your new dragon some food." She gestured with the tray in her hands, raising it and down a few times. Cara watched her, saying nothing as she struggled to keep the wiggling little hatchling from diving out of her arms and to the floor.
"Shall I bring it over or leave it here on the table?" The maid asked, gesturing towards the furniture a small ways off from Cara's bed. Because the thought of moving that far made her feel ill again, Cara opted for the former. "If you could bring it over, that would be appreciated." She said, and the woman obliged, barely making it a few steps towards Cara before the small dragon lept towards her.
Sharp claws pushing painfully off Cara's arms, the hatchling lightly flapped her pale purple wings a few times, soaring in a graceful, upwards arc before landing face-first into the dish of small meat cutlets that the older woman held.
"Well then. I've heard that the higher-ranked dragons fly early, but I wasn't expecting a full assault first thing after I met you." The woman remarked, her mouth twisting in amusement as she set the tray down on the bed, dragon and all. "My name is Lorsa, by the way, and the Royal Steward has assigned me as your maid."
Cara shot her a quizzical look over the bowl of simple broth that she had uncovered, the only other dish on the tray. "Does the Royal Steward normally assign servants to guests?" She inquired, placing the cover back over the bowl.
"Just you new riders, though it's usually a temporary thing before you're all shuttled off to different occupations," Lorsa replied, watching the grey wriggling hatchling devouring its meal. "You should take after your dragon, my lady, and eat something. It'll help to restore your energy."
Cara grimaced slightly, lifting the cover on the odd-smelling broth once more. "Is there possibly some bread or fruit I could have instead?" She asked, looking up at the servant in front of her with a hopeful expression.
"No." Lorsa firmly said, walking away and picking up some cushions from the couch placed at the opposite end of the room. "That's a remedy purposely brewed to help restore your body after what you put it through recently." Cara groaned, removing the lid and lifting the bowl with one hand. The liquid within was a dull brown-green, clear with small black bits that looked like leaves. "Are you sure this isn't just the scum from the bottom of the garbage pit that they scooped off into a bowl?" She muttered, lifting the bowl to her face and sniffing the bitter contents once more.
Chuckling, Lorsa shook her head as she arranged the pile of pillows in a slight slope against the back wall, heaping a few blankets nearby. "I'm sure. If it helps at all, Prince Kimon was served the same thing, and he seemed to survive it." Swallowing hard, Cara lifted the bowl to her mouth and gulped down the medicinal contents in one go, not stopping to taste their flavor until she had finished the entire dish.
A shudder ran up the length of her spine, raising the tiny hairs along her arms in legs into goose pimples, her body attempting to reject what she had just swallowed. "Oh, that's foul." Cara muttered quietly, bumping a finger at her dragonling, who had finished its rich meal and was now curled up in content on the silver dish. "Must be nice just to get to eat prime cuts there, hmm?"
Lazily snapping her small jaws at Cara's finger, the grey dragonling readjusted her wings, folding one down neatly and tucking her small head under the other one. Cara watched her, examining the pale purple appendages which had carried the hatchling in flight just moments before. What Lorsa had said about high-ranking dragons flying early wasn't entirely false, though. From her time in the Aeries, Cara had always caught the impression that they developed faster. Taking to the air a few days after hatching was something she had never heard of, though admittedly, she had never been allowed to take care of baby dragons before. Such an important task was reserved for the most veteran keepers.
"There we go." Lorsa said, finishing her fussing near the window. "You should be able to comfortably watch from here, my lady, should you feel up to moving." Cara looked up from her scrutiny in surprise, having half-forgotten that the woman was still in the room with her. "Yes, thank you." She said quickly, gingerly moving towards the edge of the bed. The nausea did not rise to meet her upon moving this time, though her body still felt weak and limp as she stood, using the wall for stability.
Lorsa hurried over, her face concerned as she offered an arm to Cara, who shook her head and waved her away. "I'm fine, just moving slowly." She murmured, shying away from the concerned touch, taking a small step forward.
Each successive step after that felt progressively harder, her body trembling as she tried to make it over to the window. Cara almost made it to the seat before her knees gave out, painfully smacking against the ledge as she crumpled into a small pile on the floor. "Miss, are you sure..?" Lorsa asked hesitantly, watching Cara pull herself up into the seat with no small amount of difficulty.
"I'm… yes, I'm sure." Cara grunted, half crawling onto the pile of cushions. "See? I’m fine.” Her knee still throbbing, she looked out over the vast stretch of garden that preceded the central courtyard of the palace, where thousands of heads bobbed in excitement, watching the skies. Only the King's dragon and those of the four Generals were allowed attendance apparently, and Cara could just make out the outline of a slender copper dragon with knobby horns near the end of the line of impressive beasts, including a familiar red creature with a grumpy temperament.
"Well, if that's all, Miss, feel free to call should you need anything else." Lorsa finally remarked, curtsying and leaving the room after grabbing the tray, holding the empty bowl, and gently depositing the dragon on the bed so she could retrieve the dish as well. “Thank you,” Cara said as she watched her go, glancing over to the small scaly mound that sat on her bed once the door closed. "Slugabed." She teased in its direction, earning a grumpy squawk in response.
She turned back to the window as a bellowing cry rent its way across the skies. Even if she couldn't be there in person, she would still watch the show from afar, seeing as most of the noble families rarely missed a chance to show off.