NOVEL NEXT Interlude 1: The Sun
23rd of Inandyl - 4th Kaldros
The day after Vespera's party seems dull. It might be the fact that it feels a little like I am back into a new term as I climb the stairs to Professor Elandria's office. I stifle a yawn as Chou nestles further into the large, fluffy collar of my oversized sweater. I envy her ability to "sleep" basically anywhere while I knock on the door.
"Enter." The professor's voice comes muffled through the heavy door, and I do so, taking my seat as I had done all last term.
"It's good to see you again, Crowfoot, and thank you for coming on such short notice." Elandria pours two cups of tea and hands one to me. It smells of ginger and something fruity that I can't quite place.
"It's no trouble. I would just be studying anyway." I reply, trying to put her mind at ease as I recall the guarded, cryptic air she had on the last time we spoke. I take a sip of the tea and am pleasantly surprised by the pungent flavors melding with the softer ones.
"That is quite diligent of you. It is break though, and most scribes tend to not want to study during these precious thirty days of freedom." Elandria nods while she takes a sip of her own tea.
I shrug, not wanting to tell her that I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I wasn't studying here. "I suppose I'm not like most scribes." As I say it, it only occurs to me then that the statement really rings true. Most scribes aren't Pactbearers for a mysterious goddess of untold and unknown power. I suppress a shiver at the thought of the Morrighan and stay my hand from creeping up to the birds on my neck.
"Indeed." The professor only nods at my statement, either because she is in agreement or she is not fully paying attention to me. She stares at nothing while sipping her tea.
"What was it that you wanted to discuss?" I ask after another long moment of silence that hangs in the ginger-scented air.
"I was going to show you how the mapping works first." Elandria clears her throat, setting her tea down on her desk. She rises from her seat, hands smoothing the non-existent wrinkles in her fitted vest as she moves to one of the bookshelves with dozens of miscellaneous books and knick-knacks stacked on them.
"Alright," I murmur uncertainly while I watch her search and flip through several tomes before finding the one she brings with her back to her desk. I set my own cup down while Elandria places the book on the desk so I can see. It depicts a model of the Nine Heavens with its beautifully rendered, interlacing circles that she has shown me previously.
We review Dinwold's "Mysteries of the Cosmos" as she points out particular bodies and cycles on the diagram. I realize now that I should have brought my notes, despite the fact that she told me not to. My lips purse in a pout as she continues to explain the finer points. I only hope she takes it as a sign of concentration and not for what the expression really is: panicked frustration.
My crazed attempt at committing all the professor's words to memory is interrupted by a knock at the door. We both stop, and the sound rings out again.
"Enter," Elandria intones, an odd inflection in her voice.
I don't have time to wonder about it, though, as I turn to see Dean Windraven join us in Professor Marblebrook's office.
Dazed and a bit bewildered, I stare, slack jawed, at the stoic Dean. This is the first time I have been directly in his presence and it is an intimidating experience to say the least. I am stunned into silence in his regal, quietly demanding presence.
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"Pardon the interruption, ladies." He nods toward the professor first, then me, "Miss. I promise this will only take a moment." His stern voice is softer in person, but it is by no means gentle as he turns back to Professor Marblebrook. "I hadn't heard from you on your decision, Elandria, and we are out of time on this I'm afraid."
Elandria makes that same smoothing motion on her vest again and I realize what has been so odd about her lately. She is nervous!
"I figured I had at least until tomorrow…" She trails off with a furrow in her brow.
"I'll not have you delay any longer on this. I need a name." The Dean's words are still soft and measured, but there is an undertone in it that pulls my spine rigid.
Elandria pauses for a moment, which I admire all the more for delaying at all under the pressure of the Dean's scrutiny.
"Well, she is right here. Her name is Seretra Crowfoot." She waves a hand in my direction and I blanch.
Eyes wide, I feel a shock of utter betrayal as my gaze shifts between them like my weight shifts uneasily in my seat. What has she just named me for? To the Dean of all people! Did she tell him about my trip into the Eldwood? About being a Pactbearer? Even though she assures me that he and Mistress Yevenna already know, I can't stop the panic that crawls up my throat.
"Crowfoot." The Dean tries my surname as if recalling a vague memory, and I have never in my life felt more like the mouse that Calas calls me. Especially when the subtle shift of his focus to me makes me feel like I should run. In a blink, he shifts his gaze back toward Elandria, the harsh lines in his brow smoothing in an instant.
"Excellent. Apologies for interrupting, ladies."
It isn't until after he closes the heavy door behind him that my lungs start to work again and I take several deep breaths before narrowing my eyes at Elandria.
"What was that about?" I blurt angrily.
"Are you free this coming weekend, on Velron?" She asks as if she hadn't heard me. She heaves a sigh while staring at the closed door and practically collapses in her chair.
Her dismissal of my question only adds fuel to my proverbial bonfire that was caused by her treachery.
"Would it matter? What is this all about?" I repeat indignantly as Chou rouses from the little hammock she has made in my collar.
"We are having a bit of a get together in the faculty lounge on Velron evening and we would really appreciate your help in getting it set up." She pauses a moment to take a sip of tea. When she sets it back down, she locks eyes with me and I can't help but notice that she looks…tired.
Something clicks then, like a puzzle piece falling into place. Maybe it comes from feeling like a mouse from earlier under the Dean's eye, which made me think of Calas and what he said at the party yesterday. Whatever sparked that feeling, I hear his words reverberate in my mind. "There is this stupid faculty dinner and they want us, the staff, there beforehand to help set it up." My heart leaps and answers for me before my brain has a chance to.
"Sure. I'll help." What did I just say? I muse to myself.
She seems genuinely shocked by this response as her mouth works, slightly agape, her head tilts in wonder. Finding herself again quickly, Elandria closes her lips in a smile.
"Wonderful! I knew I could count on you, Crowfoot."
My mind is still spinning from what I just said and why. Sure, it's helping out the faculty and Elandria specifically, but is there really an option to say "no" at this point? She told my name to the Dean, but that doesn't explain why I basically jumped at the chance.
She goes on when I am too stunned to answer, still wondering to myself why I would volunteer so quickly to what Calas calls "drudgery".
"Come to the faculty lounge in this building on the seventh floor after lunch. That should give you and the rest of the staff enough time to set everything up." My focus resets on the professor, abandoning the previous topic on my mind as it was going nowhere. An adjacent thought pops into my head and I am blurting it out before I realize it.
"Not to change the subject, but do you know of an animal with the skull of a stag, and teeth like a wolf?"
The professor gives a blink, a heartbeat of hesitation before responding.
"Not off hand. Have you seen this creature?"
"Not exactly. It was depicted on a mask I saw at the Enchanted Masquerade." I shake my head vigorously causing Chou to take flight from her snuggly cocoon.
Elandria lifts an eyebrow at me and I blush, feeling like she knows why I'm asking. I've said too much!
"Well, that could be anything, couldn't it?" She states with the curl of a smile.
"Why do you always get pink when you talk about Uriell?" Chou asks in her breezy voice, landing on my knee.
"Uriell, you say? Well, I might know of some places you can look in that case." Elandria hides a laugh as a scoff, but her knowing smile is still plain on her face.
Mortified, I wait as she jots down some titles and sections to look for in the Library. Chou and I are going to have to have a serious talk about when to stay silent!