Ghalatea nodded. “But personally I like the violin better.”
They made their way through the crowd of people who were talking to one another. Towards the middle of the hall some people were dancing. Ghalatea and Lilith both got themselves a goblet of wine and found a place to sit in one of the many alcoves. Lilith leaned back into the brightly coloured cushions lying on the floor.
The noise was a bit less loud here.
Pretty soon, Ghalatea engaged into conversations with other people. Lilith kept aloof because they were talking about the attack on the king, and she wasn’t allowed to say anything about that. Then she spotted Aida. She was sitting a bit farther down and was carefully resting her arm on a cushion. It looked as if she had accentuated her black eye with some powders. She wasn’t wanting attention of men; they went out of their way to get her more cushions to support her back and to bring her drinks.
Lilith thought the maidservant was putting up an act, which annoyed her. She should actually be grateful to me, otherwise she would never have gotten that much attention.
“I want to go dance.”
Ghalatea was already on her feet and she was waiting for Lilith to join her. But Lilith rather observed the dance floor from a distance, so she shook her head. She followed Ghalatea with her eyes until the Ancilla Princeps disappeared in the crowd. Now and again she had to laugh because some people were starting to behave increasingly boisterous. Someone came by to fill up her goblet, but she refused.
The wine hadn’t agreed with her, and she was feeling a bit drowsy.
“Is it all right if I join you?”
It was the man she had bumped into before. Lilith nodded. He held out his hand and introduced himself as Chrys. He had long, light brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail. A little piece of yellow fabric stuck out from under his bright green tunic. He sat down and folded his legs underneath him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
Lilith told him her name and anxiously awaited if he had heard stories about her
“Why is it that a beautiful lady such as yourself is sitting here all alone?” he asked.
Lilith blushed. But at the same time she became angry. How dare he make a fool out of her?
“I’m serious. I was scared to come and sit next to you. To pluck up some courage, I told myself that it couldn’t have been a coincidence that we bumped into each other.” He smiled shyly.
Lilith carefully glanced at the man next to her. Chrys seemed to be genuinely shy. Then she looked around the room. She was expecting Aida to be watching her from a distance. Or maybe someone else had sent this man over to hurt her.
“Has someone sent you?” she therefore asked.
“No, why?”
“Forget I asked.”
Aida was much too occupied with the men hanging around her, so she probably didn’t have a hand in this, and Lilith didn’t see anyone else who might be involved.
They sat in silence for a while. Lilith was secretly sizing him up.
Chrys was rather handsome and he looked cheerful. When he noticed that she was looking at him, his cheeks turned red. She liked that as well. She hated it when she blushed herself, but it made him look attractive.
“I haven’t seen you here before, have you been in Nadesh long?”
Lilith hesitated briefly, but then she said, “For several months. I work in the royal household.”
“You’re a bit old to be a new maidservant,” he observed inquisitively. She decided not to respond. “And what happened to your fingers?”
Lilith covered the bandages with her other hand. “I burned myself on boiling water.”
“Ouch…”
Judging by his face, he could almost feel the pain right then and there. That made her smile. “It’s fine now,” she reassured him. She wasn’t like Aida, and she didn’t need to put on an act to get attention from this man. “It happened a week ago.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Lilith looked up at the ceiling again.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it? It’s thousands of years old.” Chrys was looking at the ceiling too.
“That old?” Lilith asked incredulously.
“Well, that’s not entirely true. The design was never changed, but broken panels have been replaced over the years. There’s probably nothing left of the original dome any more.”
“You know a lot about it. Most people here don’t even look at it. But maybe they’ve seen it too often.”
“I doubt if they ever had a good look at it. But I’ve spent hours here. You get the best view if you lie down on the floor in the middle of the hall.”
Lilith laughed. “And I guess you’ve done that.”
He nodded.
“But why?”
“I’m an archaeologist. Right now I’m involved in the excavation of the Nicasian ruin in the south, which of course has the same origin as this window, so that’s why I’ve studied it extensively.”
The way he said it made it seem as if everybody would know what he was talking about. Lilith hesitated briefly but then said, “I don’t really understand what you mean. Who are the Nicasians?”
“I’m sorry. This is my profession, but I shouldn’t assume that everybody knows these things.”
“You could teach me…”
Chrys shook his head. “I would only bore you with dull stories.”
“Try me.”
She moved a bit farther back to escape the noises coming from the hall. Chrys did the same.
“All right, but I warned you.” He cast a quick look at her and then dreamily stared off into the distance. “This story takes place over four thousand years ago.”
Lilith wrapped her arms around her knees. She kept looking at him as the story unfolded.
“Back then, the region that we now call Merzia formed one big country together with Naftalia and even the desert. The mountains were much lower and still overgrown with grass and trees, and the desert was less hot. Only Naftalia hasn’t changed much since then. That entire area was called Nicasia, and its inhabitants were the Nicasians. Despite being subdivided into tribes, the people formed a unity because of their way of life. They were satisfied with what they had, even though it wasn’t much. In other words: the Nicasians were a happy people.
But all that was about to change. Another people sailed across the ocean in big sailing ships and came to Nicasia. These Hurath were wealthier and more civilized, but at the same time they were never satisfied. Unfortunately, the Nicasians didn’t know this.
During the first few days, everything went well. The strangers were given a hearty welcome, and the Nicasians shared their food and even their houses with them. Relatives went to live under the same roof to give the newcomers a place to stay. Among themselves, however, the Hurath spoke about the Nicasians with contempt. They found them inferior and decided that they had the right to rule over the them. The Nicasians could never have suspected the changes that were to be brought about by the coming of the sailing ships. Pretty soon they were turned into slaves who lived by the grace of the Hurath. They had to give up all their possessions and they only got food when the new rulers decided that they deserved some. And trust me, that wasn’t very often.”
Chrys took a short break when someone came by to fill up his glass. Lilith seized the opportunity to ask a question.
“Didn’t the Nicasians offer any resistance?”
Chrys shook his head. “Violence wasn’t part of their nature and they quickly learned that negotiating only made matters worse. So they reconciled themselves to the new situation.”
“Just like that?”
Chrys shook his head again and his eyes started to shine. “No, there was a small group of people who did offer resistance. Thibauld and Hadumar had been friends for a long time. They had different plans for the future than to serve as slaves to the Hurath, so they gathered a group of likeminded men and women around them. Overt resistance led to violent reprisals, so they operated under the
cover of darkness. They didn’t book many successes, but that was no reason for them to stop. They would go on till the end.
Then the sorcerers came to Nicasia. They secretly supported the resistance fighters, but the effect of their attacks was still negligible. So the sorcerers convened another, even more secret, meeting. That night, Thibauld and Hadumar, and all other men and women who had fought against the Hurath from the very beginning, were given the ability to shapeshift. As the leader of the group, and because he had risked his life to save others on several occasions, Thibauld was given the ability to change into a dragon.”
Lilith heaved a sigh. She hadn’t expected that this story would be about shapeshifters.
“See, I’m boring you,” Chris said. He was insecurely playing with his bracelet.
“Not at all. I never knew that this was the history of the shapeshifters. I think it’s a wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.”
He gave her a look of surprise. “I have to know all of this because I concern myself with the heritage of the Nicasians, but otherwise it’s just a dry piece of history.”
“But it’s my history. I’m a”, Lilith had wanted to say that she was a dragon, but she changed her mind, “a shapeshifter.”
She immediately regretted having said that. How could she be so stupid? She hardly even knew him. It must have been the wine, she told herself. Someone had filled up her goblet again and she had unwittingly emptied it.
“Of course,” Chrys said. “Such a beautiful woman, what else could you be. What kind are you?”
Lilith shook her head.
“A unicorn?” When Lilith didn’t say anything he listed a few other races.
“Do you really want to know?” she whispered at long last.
Chrys moved closer. Lilith sighed. “You can’t tell anyone. I’m a dragon.”
His jaw dropped with surprise.
Lilith shook her head in confusion. “I shouldn’t have told you,” she said, trying to get up.
Chrys, however, pulled her back down. “Please, don’t leave. I… I can’t believe that I’m sitting right next to you.”
Lilith lowered herself back down into the cushions. “Why not?”
“Shall I tell you how the story ends?” She nodded. “So, Thibauld became a dragon. Hadumar was a scout and had to be able to rely on a keen eye. So he became the first eagle man.
As you might imagine, in its new form the resistance was much more effective than before. It wasn’t long before the Hurath – chased by unicorns – were driven out of Nicasia. According to the story, they never even got the chance to board their ships. Instead, they ran north for days before they jumped into the sea.” He gave a short laugh.
“What happened next?” Lilith asked. “Did everything go back to normal?”
“No, too much had happened. The Nicasians had become one as slaves and now that they were free, they were unified as a people as well. Thibauld was elected king and his descendants have ruled over Nicasia, and later Merzia, for centuries.”
“Yes, I read about that.”
He smiled briefly. “When Merzia became smaller and smaller, however, the shapeshifters were no longer the ones who became king. No matter, back to King Thibauld. During his rule, and that of the sovereigns who succeeded him, large buildings were erected.” He made a wide gesture at the hall. “This is one of those buildings.”
“Has Thibauld lived here?”
“No, he hasn’t. It is said that Nadesh used to be a religious centre. Priests and monks used to live here. Furthermore, this building is thought to be of later date. Thibauld lived to a very old age, but he won’t have seen this dome. There are, however, signs that there was a building here prior to this one, so it is possible that he visited this location.”
Lilith closed her eyes as if trying to sense the presence of the first dragon man. The story filled her with pride. She was a descendant of this brave man, who was held in high esteem by everyone. Chrys carefully touched her hand. She opened her eyes. He pointed at the ceiling. “Do you see the dragon?”
Lilith leaned forwards and followed his finger. Now she noticed that the black spot she had thought to be the night sky had the shape of a dragon. She hadn’t noticed before, because this creature was depicted much larger than the other animals.
“Was he black?” she whispered.
“Thibauld? Yes, he was a black dragon. The sorcerers gave him that colour so he would be even less visible during the night.”
She smiled because he voiced what she had been thinking. Maybe the artist who had painted the window had given the dragon man the illusion of the night on purpose. It also affected her for another reason: she was a black dragon herself.
“It feels to me as if I’m sitting next to a queen.”
Lilith laughed. She, a queen? She did like the thought of it, though. Being cheered at by a crowd, like Yvar had been on the balcony that afternoon, was something she would like very much. It had to be an incredible feeling to know that people looked up to you for the right reasons.
“I’m sure you were joking when you said you’re working in the royal household,” Chrys cut into the silence.
Lilith shook her head. “I really am a maidservant.” It wasn’t a lie. After Ferhdessar had removed her wristband, she and the king had agreed that she would keep working at the palace in exchange for a small allowance.
“But lord Yvar is also descended from Thibauld. You’re related to one another!”
Lilith laughed it off. “Aren’t we all descended from the same person if we go back in time far enough?”
A bit farther down, people were laughing as well. Lilith looked up, but the laughter wasn’t in response to her remark.
The music group started a new song. Many people started to clap. Men and women came out of the alcoves and rushed towards the dance floor. Chrys got up as well and held out his hand.
“Would you honour me with a dance?”
He made a small bow when she put her hand in his and then he pulled her up. As she walked beside him, she whispered bashfully, “I don’t know how to dance.”
“That’s all right. There are no real rules.”
Lilith looked at the other couples. The women held their skirts with one hand and they put their other arm around the man’s shoulders. She copied that. She surrendered to Chrys’s lead and she whirled past the other partygoers. She spotted Ghalatea, who was dancing as well. The Ancilla Princeps winked at her and then disappeared from view again. Lilith was having a great time. She twirled right in front of Aida a few times, but the maid didn’t recognize her.
After a few songs, Chrys led her back to one of the alcoves.
“What did you do before you came here?”
Lilith thought about this. Then she answered, “I used to work at an inn. That was after I had left my parental home.”
It wasn’t a lie, but it sounded better than it had been.
“Where did you live?”
“In a small village in… er… the south.”
“The ruin that I’m excavating is in the south as well. In which village did you grow up?”
What was she going to answer? The only village she knew was the one where Pavel lived. That’s why she said, “I’m from Kandar.”
“I’ve been there occasionally.”
Lilith was becoming nervous, but luckily Chrys said, “It’s pretty close to where I work, but I don’t go there very often.”
“What kind of building are you excavating?”
“A palace. It’s one of the biggest ever found and also one of the oldest. We’ve only searched a small part of the area, but rumour has it that there are tunnels leading all the way into the desert, or maybe even as far as Naftalia. It would be a dream come true to find them, because they should contain traces of the first shapeshifters.”
Lilith shared his excitement. She would love to go there sometime. When she said this out loud, Chrys answered that he might take her with him one day.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” he asked after that.
His inquisitiveness was getting on her nerves. How long would he continue to ask questions and how much should she tell him? There was no way in the world she would ever tell him what her real job had been. But what should she say?
“A little brother, Myar.” Lilith winced as she said his name. It still hurt that he had to die. At the same time she was amazed at how quickly the lie had escaped her lips.
“You really miss him,” he concluded, looking worried.
She nodded. “Shall we have another dance?”
“Good idea.”
They danced a few more dances before Lilith told him that she was tired.
“Shall I walk you to your room?”
They left the hall with arms linked. Lilith quickly looked around for Ghalatea, but she hadn’t seen her any more since the first dance.
At the door of her room she said goodbye.
“Thank you very much for the lovely evening.”
“In that case, I should to thank you as well. Will we see each other again?”
“I would like that.”
Before Chrys could say anything in response, Lilith closed the door. She took off the dress and left it lying on the floor. Exhausted, she fell down on her bed.
When Lilith woke up the next morning she realized it was late. She splashed some water in her face to wash away the sleep and threw on her clothes. When she looked in the mirror she saw that the ribbons had made one big mess of her hair. The plaits had come loose in some places and tufts of hair were sticking out. She pulled out the pins and started to undo the plaits. She was grumbling because it didn’t go as fast as she would have liked. Lilith brushed her hair once and then tied it into a pony tail. Next, she ran to the kitchen.
The Lilith Trilogy Box Set Page 18
