Ashes

by Lauralana Dunne

  With a shrug, Phoenix patted Kit on the head. “Go see Muler,” she told her, pointing to the stables. “I’ll come an’ visit later.” She watched as Kit trotted off before walking to the hall.

  Rae was already waiting at their usual spot. She waved to grab her attention, and Phoenix slid next to her with a smile. Elise and Sophie joined them only a moment later. “Nice clothes,” Sophie greeted Phoenix, sliding into position on the bench across from her.

  “Minna was kind enough t’ help me out,” Phoenix replied, noting how the girl smiled at the mention of her Master.

  “So, Phoenix,” Rae began, her eyes glinting mischievously, “how was breaking fast with Prince Hallan this morning?”

  Elise squeaked in shock and everyone sitting around them paused their conversations to stare.

  Phoenix blushed furiously. “He jus’ had me carry th’ trays is all,” she muttered, shooting Rae a glare. “I wasn’t there long.”

  “Why would he get you to do it?” a nearby boy asked scornfully. “You don’t even got a rank!”

  “Oh, stuff it, Rodney!” Rae said, throwing her napkin at him. He ducked and opened his mouth to retort, but - upon seeing Brianna and the other girls swooping towards them - he shut his mouth and turned away, doing his best to look invisible.

  “Uh oh,” Elise said, watching as Brianna drew closer. “Someone’s on a warpath.”

  Brianna marched unerringly towards Phoenix. “You!” She hissed, coming to a halt. Her green eyes were ablaze with spite. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you need to mind your own business!” Jenny looked around quickly and hushed her, but Brianna paid the girl no attention. “I heard about your little stunt in the yard. I bet you think you’re so clever for getting Alan in trouble. If you think for one instant that-”

  “Ah! Phoenix - There you are.” Phoenix looked up from Brianna’s tirade to see Prince Hallan striding purposefully towards her, cutting easily through the assembled girls who parted for him in shock. “We didn’t get a chance to finish our talk from this morning.”

  “Your Highness?” Phoenix asked, confused. Belatedly she wondered if she should stand and bow to him.

  “Your Highness,” Brianna greeted the Prince with a graceful curtsy. Her voice was syrupy-sweet, showing no trace of the venom it had held a moment before.

  “My Lady...?” He gave her a bow in return.

  “Brianna,” she said, smiling coyly. “Eldest child to Lord Byron.”

  “Lord Byron, you say? Duke of Sommervale?” He smiled in return. The Prince took Brianna’s hand and brushed it against his lips formally. “I’ve heard great things about your father, my Lady. Such a pleasure to meet you.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness,” Brianna cooed.

  Rae turned her head and made a silent gagging motion. Jenny fixed her with a glare and Rae gave her a smirk in response.

  The gong to signal the meal rang. Everyone dispersed and made their way to their seats: Brianna with a hostile glare to Phoenix before joining the excited whispers of the other girls; Prince Hallan with a smile and a promise to find her later.

  Phoenix was aware that everyone was staring at her. Pretending not to care, she inspected her new tunic for dirt while she waited. As soon as a plate of meal rolls reached her, she snatched the nearest one and bit off a large chunk of it to distract herself. The others, seeing that she wasn’t going to talk, fell to whispering among themselves.

  “She seems excitable,” Rae remarked mildly over the whispering, serving herself a large helping of root vegetables.

  “She’s mad tha’ Alan got in trouble.” Phoenix accepted the dish from Rae and scooped some onto her plate before passing it along down the table.

  “Oh?” the three girls asked, leaning in close.

  “Yeah. Earlier at drills, Captain Rolf caught him throwin’ a rock at Camden’s head. He was none too impressed - said he had no manners.”

  “You saw it?” they breathed. All three were looking at her wide-eyed.

  Phoenix shrugged with surprise. “Th’ whole courtyard saw it.”

  “Was there blood?” asked Rae.

  “Or thunder?” breathed Elise.

  “Or lightning?” squealed Sophie.

  Phoenix rolled her eyes. “It was just a rock...”

  “No, silly! From Camden. When he gets mad...” Sophie shuddered.

  “What happened to the rock?” Elise asked in a whisper.

  Phoenix blinked. “Well, I dunno... it just - stopped.”

  “Stopped?” the girls asked.

  “Yeah.” Phoenix thought back. “It was gonna hit his head, but it broke instead. Right in th’ air.”

  Sophie shuddered again and made the sign against evil. Rae hissed at her to stop it, and when Sophie retorted sharply Elise shushed them both. “Stop making a scene.”

  Phoenix continued to eat her meal. She helped herself to sliced fowl as the platter made its way back down her side of the table, using her fingers to catch the drippings that ran down her chin. She was even one of the first to grab a rindfruit as they made their rounds. Excitedly, she peeled it with her fingernails and pulled a juicy segment from its core.

  “I don’ see why he’d go an’ do somethin’ so nasty,” Phoenix said, popping the fruit into her mouth. She paused a moment to enjoy the explosion of juice as she bit through the taut orange flesh. “Camden’s nice. Alan was bein’ sooky that he beat him in drills is all.”

  “Nice?” Elise asked. “You mean, you talked to him?”

  “’Course.” Phoenix bit into another piece of the fruit. “He talked t’ me first,” she recalled. “Why?”

  “He’s strange,” Sophie said, with a dismissive sniff.

  “People like us aren’t supposed to talk to people like him,” Rae said seriously.

  People like them? Phoenix stared at her. “Says who?”

  “It’s not like she could have ignored him if he spoke first,” Elise said in a consoling fashion.

  “But still-” Sophie began, before Rae cut her off.

  “Everyone says so, that’s who,” Rae told her. “You don’t see any of us wandering up to the Head Table and striking a conversation, do you? It just isn’t done. They have rank, and we,” she gestured to those around them, “do not.”

  Elise and Sophie nodded seriously in agreement.

  Phoenix frowned. Was it possible that Camden hadn’t known that she was bloodless? Would he have bothered speaking to her in the first place if he did?

  “It’s still stupid,” she said sullenly. No matter what she did here, it always seemed to result in a scolding.

  Rae shrugged and turned her attention back to her meal.

  Irritated, Phoenix propped her head against her hand and took her time to watch those around her.

  Those at the Head and Masters’ Tables were relaxed and laughing among themselves. They seemed full of energy, appearing overly animated as they talked, trying to out-do each other with amusing anecdotes. Those sitting at the lower tables, much like herself, were slower-moving, and seemed more weary from the day. Many of the younger ones were reading or writing furiously on their ledgers, trying to free up some dormtime before bed.

  Phoenix thought longingly of the quiet of her bed. She wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over her head and escape into the softness of sleep. Her eyes drooped, and she could feel a numbness creeping through her body. She would have been content to doze at the table, but Rae’s sharp elbow jabbed itself in her ribs and chased the fuzziness of sleep from her head. Belatedly, she realized that the evening’s announcements had started, and that her name had been called.

  “You’re to meet with the Bookmaster in the library,” the unknown Master droned on from the front of the Hall, unaware that his subject had not been paying attention.

  The girls looked at Phoenix quizzically, but she could only raise her hands helplessly, feeling just as confused about the summons as they were.

  “And Miss Elise, also of the
girls’ dorm,” the Master continued, “you are to meet the Mastercaller at his tower after meal’s end. Be prompt, please. It doesn’t do to keep our Mastercaller waiting...” His voice was stern, but he was looking in the direction of the younger boys. By the way that they fidgeted under his gaze, Phoenix guessed that his comment was directed more to them than to Elise.

  A few of the noblewomen chuckled softly, as if the Master had said something humorous. Phoenix looked curiously at Elise, but Elise didn’t seem to find the situation funny. Instead, Phoenix watched as the color drained from her face. Sophie looked worried and gave her friend a comforting pat.

  The bell chimed to signal the end of the meal. There was bustling and the scraping of benches as dismissed workers left the tables. Scullers came after them in a wave from the kitchens and began to remove the table settings.

  Phoenix turned to ask Elise what had given her such a fright, but, without saying a word to anyone, the girl had leapt up and was hurriedly making her way from the hall.

  No one said anything. Even the boys sitting around them watched silently.

  The first to move was Sophie, who, solemnly, used her hand to make the sign to ward against evil.

  CHAPTER 10

  The library smelled of stale dust. It reminded Phoenix of the storage cellar back in Avondale - except that it was high above ground, and it was filled with parchments instead of turnips, but the musty odor was much the same.

  Large, ornate windows stretched along the walls, casting a wide array of hues across the floors and shelves. Unlike the windows in the hall, the colored glass did not depict scenes or pictures, but was filled instead with abstract splashes of color.

  “Lanterns, please,” an older gentleman called from the large desk at the front of the room. His voice carried easily in the hushed silence. He wore a deep green sweater and peered over a pair of spectacles that were perched on his nose. Phoenix had heard of them, the strange glass device that improved peoples’ vision, but she had never seen them before. She found them fascinating. His white hair was combed neatly, his beard trimmed short, and he exuded the quiet authority of a Master when he spoke. “No open flames. Candles in the lanterns, please!”

  The man nodded to several juniors, and handed lanterns to the few who came forward to get them. Others gathered their work and exited quietly through the double doors to return to their rooms.

  “Would you like a lantern?” the man asked pleasantly, smiling at Phoenix. “It’s getting rather hard to see in the dark.”

  “Um, n-no, thank you - well, yes, actually - but I think I’m t’ see you? If you’re th’ Bookmaster, that is.” Phoenix looked around carefully, half-expecting Master Weston to charge out from among the shelves and protest her very presence.

  His moss-green eyes appraised her, their few flecks of hazel popping in the light. “Ah, yes. You must be the infamous Phoenix.” When she nodded hesitantly, he handed her a lantern. “Third row on your left.”

  “Thank you,” she said gratefully, accepting the lantern.

  She walked through the aisles slowly. The shelves were filled with countless books of different shapes and sizes, most of which had the same strange symbols on their spines as the ones on Master Weston’s walls.

  When she reached the third row, Phoenix could see a woman restocking the shelves from a wheeled cart that groaned when she pushed it. Phoenix appraised the mountain of stacked books, impressed that not one toppled as they moved.

  The woman wore a knit purple cardigan and was humming quietly to herself while she worked. She paused with a smile when she noticed Phoenix coming towards her.

  “S’cuse me. I’m lookin’ for th’ Bookmaster...”

  “Well, you’ve found her!” The Bookmaster laughed pleasantly, her blue eyes crinkling. “You must be Phoenix, then?”

  “Yes, Master.” Phoenix managed to dip into a graceless curtsy. The jerky movement caused the lantern to throw light unevenly on the shelves around them.

  The Bookmaster waved off the formality. “You’re newly arrived; I haven’t seen you before.” She paused and studied Phoenix’s face for a moment, as if committing it to memory. “I was asked to set aside some books for you - they’re down in the back. So, come along; I’ll give you the grand tour.” Pushing the cart so that it was out of the way, she led Phoenix through the shelves of parchment and bound ledgers.

  The Master pointed out different reading subjects and seating areas as they went. Phoenix smiled and nodded, attempting to memorize everything that she was told. There were only a few people present in the library at this hour, and the Master spoke quietly so as not to disturb them, but Phoenix found that even though she was the one who remained silent she was still the recipient of several annoyed looks.

  Eventually, they came to the center of the room. Oversized chairs were grouped around multiple tables in front of a large, grated-in hearth. “At first I was surprised by how old you were,” the Bookmaster admitted; her voice soft from years of working in a quiet place. “I was expecting someone at least half your age.” She smiled kindly. “But, I guess everyone has to start somewhere.”

  She gestured to a small stack of books resting on the table next to them. “You have to get a beginners’ ledger from Master Weston, but these will do for now.” She took the lantern from Phoenix and set it on the table. “Any questions?” she asked.

  Phoenix stared at the books, feeling overwhelmed. “So, I’m t’ take these t’ Master Weston...?”

  “Tomorrow morning, when you go with the rest of the girls for your lesson.”

  Phoenix felt her heart sink. She was hoping to be able to avoid more humiliation in front of Brianna and her friends.

  The Bookmaster smiled warmly. “If you need any help at all - at any time - you come look for me, okay?”

  Phoenix nodded, then smiled shyly. Remembering her manners, she attempted another curtsy. “Thank you, Master.”

  “You’re very welcome. It was a pleasure meeting you, Phoenix. Don’t be a stranger!” The Bookmaster smiled and, turning, disappeared among the bookstacks to return to her work.

  Phoenix waited for her to disappear from view before leaning against the table and lifting the cover of the first book. The characters scripted on the page made no more sense to her than they did the previous morning. With a soft sigh, she let the cover drop down and close the book.

  “You obviously haven’t had much practice with that curtsy,” a voice said dryly from one of the study chairs. Phoenix jumped and turned to see Camden rising easily despite all of the materials he carried. He’d startled her, but she didn’t admit it as he joined her next to the table. His eyes were a dark grey in the lantern light, and he was looking at her so strangely that she was beginning to wonder if what the girls had said about him earlier held any truth.

  “I didn’t get much practice onna farm,” she informed him, feeling defensive.

  He set his things down and lifted her books to look at them. “Beginner’s level?” He asked, surprised.

  Phoenix shrugged self-consciously. She felt strange meeting his gaze, so instead she looked at the text on his large books as if she could figure out what they were.

  “I don’t understand,” he said, after a beat of silence. “You can’t read, and yet such a strong fire burns inside of you.”

  Phoenix raised her eyebrows. He was focused on her, but it seemed as though he was looking through her again instead of at her.

  “Wha’ d’ you mean?”

  His grey eyes became intense as he took a step closer. “Your fire... your Power... is very strong. I can feel it when I look at you.” He reached out as if to touch her, then drew his hand back hesitantly. Phoenix wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw the gem in his ring glow briefly in the light. “Are you one of the old folk?” he asked suddenly.

  “Old folk?” she asked.

  “Yes. You know: sirens; dragons; body-shifters. Those who roamed the land long before man came along.”

  Phoenix was ast
onished. “You think I’m a dragon?” she asked, incredulous.

  “Well, it would explain your curtsy,” he said mildly. She gaped at him, and Camden had the grace to look shocked at what he said. A surprised smile spread slowly along his lips.

  Phoenix couldn’t help but laugh, and Cameron joined her a moment later, though he seemed more relieved by her reaction than anything.

  He peered at her a moment longer, then picked up his reed quill and scratched something onto a strip of parchment. With a small smile he handed it to her.

  She took it carefully, mindful of the wet ink, and looked at it helplessly. “I dunno wha’ tha’ says,” she admitted.

  Camden leaned close and, with the tip of his finger, pointed to each symbol and read it out for her. When she still didn’t get it, he circled the word with his finger. “It’s your name, Phoenix.”

  In awe, she repeated the letters back to him and he nodded. “Memorize it, if nothing else. It’s the most important word you need to know.”

  She looked up at him. His face was close to hers, and she could feel his soft breath on her cheek. Camden didn’t move, but he seemed caught off guard that she still stood there.

  It wasn’t surprising, she thought to herself, if others reacted to him the same way that Sophie did at the mention of his name.

  “Thank you,” she said simply, and she carefully folded the now-dry scrap and tucked it in her tunic.

  To her surprise, Camden blushed. “You’re welcome,” he said, straightening.

  A bell chimed somewhere in the castle. Camden rearranged his things and handed Phoenix her lantern. “Late call,” he said.

  Phoenix accepted the light and scooped up her books with her free hand. She looked at him awkwardly for a moment. “Will you be in th’ hall for next-meal?” she blurted.

  Camden gave a reflective smirk. “Perhaps.” He managed a small bow. “Goodnight, Miss Phoenix.”