Stella
Bolin squinted against the bright sunlight. I glanced at him, then focused on the scenes unfolding in the sky.
This couldn’t be real. Figures moved across the empty expanse, as though I observed their actions from an insect’s point of view. A man with a golden crown stepped down an aisle as bejeweled individuals clapped and cheered. The scene switched to someone with blue skin manipulating water against innumerable soldiers. My breath caught. Recessed knowledge cried out for release, but comprehension of what I saw eluded me.
“You see everything?” He asked.
It changed to show people withering away from an awful disease.
I pointed toward the image of a dying woman, overcome with emotion.
“You don’t see her?” I whispered.
Bolin gently gripped my chin and tugged my face downward. He searched my eyes, brow furrowing.
I fought the desire to jerk back from his touch and watch the sky.
“There’s nothing.” He frowned. “You’re hurt. Seeing things.”
I blinked. His words provided a sense of calm as images continued forming above me. Not real.
“I’m dreaming while awake?”
He nodded. “I think so. But we will find out. You are safe.”
I didn’t realize how desperately I needed reassurance until his encouraging words wrapped around the terror swirling in my gut, quelling my trembles.
“Safe,” I repeated.
He squeezed my palm. “Yes. Come. Almost home.”
I continued following him, my hand once again ensconced in his. This short, lean man radiated strength, and despite my confusion, trust took root. He spoke Celestia and assisted me. His home would protect me until we found mine.
‘Hide,’ a voice called in my mind.
I shook my head to remove the intrusive sensation, and couldn’t help glancing up again. Next to puffs of cloud, smiling imaginary people gathered in the cobbled streets, singing and dancing. No sound reached my ears, but their joy filled me, even if it was only a dream.
We soon approached a beautiful house with a gray stone exterior and creeping rose bushes.
My new friend pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. He called out in an unknown language as we entered.
A tall man lumbered through the dim hall and greeted us by the entrance. His pale blue eyes roved over me, bright with curiosity. I met his gaze and smiled, taking in the cane under his left palm, his large, plump body, and his thick orange hair.
He conversed in a lovely baritone voice, but I understood nothing.
Bolin responded quickly, and the man’s gaze widened.
“Stella, of Celestia?” He asked.
A wave of glee ran down my spine. He spoke Celestia, too?
“Yes!”
He held out an oversized hand. “I’m Patrick of the Northern Clans.”
I took his proffered limb and returned the firm handshake.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
He shook his head. “I’m not a lord, lass. Call me Patrick.”
I grinned at his lighthearted tone, despite not understanding what he meant.
Bolin
“Are you tired?” I asked Stella.
It was an unnecessary question. Anyone with a basic education knew that healing sapped the user of strength without mercy.
She nodded and patted her stomach. “I’m hungry.”
“You’ll stay with us …” I scrunched my eyelids closed while I concentrated on the words I required. “Rest and eat. We’ll search for your family soon.”
Her pale features lit.
“Your room is down the hall.” I motioned for her to follow me.
She stepped behind me until I led her to the bedchamber. She glanced around and turned in a slow circle, taking in the space: a feather bed, soft pillows, knitted blankets, and a wooden night table. A full-length mirror leaned against the corner, and bright sunshine filtered through the window.
Her brow furrowed.
“Why are you doing this?”
Patrick’s frame filled the doorway. His fluent Celestia flowed from his lips like he’d spoken it for years, instead of only reading and studying it a decade ago. I’d always envied his ability to speak difficult dialects. He refreshed each tongue regularly, surpassing the greatest linguists of our time with his acquisition and retention. I fell in love with his brilliance as much as his personality.
“Our families live far away, too. If anyone can empathize with your situation, we do.”
Thankfully, he deemphasized the part that we were going to study why she only expressed herself in Celestia and probe more deeply to understand her circumstances. Hopefully, we’d earn a nice purse of gold astralind-coins selling a new volume about the ancient language and the mysterious woman who spoke it.
If her family showed up, they would allow us to continue if we offered to pay them for her participation. However, I doubted anyone searched for her. They’d have come by now.
Her features softened as she met Patrick’s gaze. We made an excellent team. He wiggled his way into people’s hearts while I managed the business side of things. We were both brilliant linguists. No one argued against that.
“Get comfortable,” I suggested. “I’ll brew tea and discover if we still have biscuits.”
“Alright.”
Patrick thumped behind me as I headed to the kitchen and poured fresh water into the heavy iron kettle. His leg must be aching for him to visibly limp. I opened my mouth to ask if he felt alright.
“She’s older than I expected,” Patrick interrupted in Astralini, the common tongue.
I shrugged my shoulders. “She’s not young, but she isn’t old either.”
“She has the defined cheeks and fine lines of a thirty-five-year-old.”
I hung the kettle on the trammel hook over the fire. “Does that bother you?”
“Nah. We won’t have to run the lads off this way. I was surprised, is all.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What’s on your mind, my treasure?”
The corner of his mouth quirked at his favorite term of endearment. He became serious again as he explained.
“She’s probably married and has a family. Where are they? How did she end up tossed from an air wielder’s wind and abandoned here?”
I stood from the hearth and dusted my hands on my trousers. “That’s why I believe this language book will be successful. We have mystery, an ancient dialect, and a beautiful woman who fell from the heavens. Except you should know one more thing.”
He waited a moment, then blurted, “Well, spit it out.”
“She’s a healer. She saved a little girl in front of everyone.”
His fair features paled almost to translucency.
“Fuck.”
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