Journey of the Messenger Cycle 2 Part 3c
Ijah woke well after sunrise, Roddarra was already gone from their suite. A servant was tidying the main room and informed Ijah that her companion had gone to an early breakfast with Lord Jostan. She requested a large meal and a hot bath, then did some stretches.
After bathing she dressed, sat down to eat and dismissed the servant. The food was good, she was very hungry. Ijah thought about her late night encounter with the young woman, too bad she had not thought to ask the woman’s name or who employed her. She believed she would recognize her if seen again. She tried to recall more details but the combination of the poor lighting and the fact she had been very tired meant Ijah had not been as alert to the situation as she usually would have been. Upon reflection she believed she remembered the woman’s smell, perhaps lilac, there had also been no tremble of fear or adrenaline shakes, nor had the knife been something a servant would have likely carried. The blade had not been for utility, it was too long for that and when she had reversed her grip on the weapon, before handing it back, the fine balance had been notable.
After breakfast she stepped out onto the bedroom balcony, the air was crisp and refreshing, there were no clouds in the sky and the bright morning light highlighted the autumn colours splashed across the distant woodlands. It was a beautiful day. She took a few deep breaths and noted a fancy carriage coming up the lane towards the palace, she expected there to be a constant flow of guests arriving throughout the day. She retreated back inside, happy for the warmth of her room.
Roddarra returned a short while later. Ijah asked, “How was our esteemed host?”
“Oh, alright I guess. Excited about tomorrow… Both for the feast and certainly the promises I made yesterday as to what else would be happening, after the party.”
“That’s good,” Ijah noticed that Roddarra had been wearing the new fur coat Lord Jostan had given her, “Did the two of you take a walk?”
“Yes, Jostan presented thirty men and six women who are originally from the Herlington Holds. They have volunteered to leave the mercenary company and return with me to fight the Tannicans. They and a unit of another one hundred mercenaries are heading out today for West Port.”
Ijah was surprised by her lover’s dour tone, “You hired a hundred mercenaries?”
“Ha, no, I can’t afford that. Lord Jostan has lent the unit to me, for a year, more if they chose to stay on longer.”
“You don’t seem overly enthusiastic about this. Is it not a good turn of events?”
Roddarra wandered over to one of the windows, arms folded across her chest. She gave no answer to the question. Ijah briefly saw a haunted look on her face as she had turned away. In the time they had been together there had not been much talk of Roddarra’s past, her home or even much on why she had been in the Freeton area before she had been captured. Nor had they discussed her situation in light of the news that the Tannican’s seemed on the verge of defeating her people.
Ijah considered going to her, to offer comfort, but her friend’s rigid posture seemed indicative of someone who would not be very receptive to such a gesture. Instead she suggested,”I have some time this morning before I have to meet with the lord’s bard. Is there anything you wanted to do?”
“No, I don’t believe so. I have a dinner engagement this evening, with a cousin and her husband. Would you be interested in joining me?”
“Oh, certainly. Was there a set time?”
“She said the thirteenth hour. That’s a couple of hours after sunset.”
“I’ll be here an hour before, I’ll need to bathe.”
Roddarra gave a slight nod and continued to gaze out onto the countryside. Ijah fetched the garments she thought she might use for the performances, she would need at least three outfits, one for each set. She carefully laid them out atop of each other then folded them over her left arm, she also decided to bring her small collection of jewellery.
On her way out she paused at the door, “I’ll see you this evening.”
“I hope the practice goes well.”
“It should.”
When Ijah arrived at the music room there were a few minstrels and performers gathered. A pair of acrobats and three percussionists were already practising. The harpsichord and some of the other larger instruments had been removed.
Elli spotted her and drew her over to one side, away from the practice, she stood close and spoke quietly, “I’m glad to see you brought a few outfits. I did as well. May I?”
Ijah replied in a similarly hushed tone, “I wish I had more traditional garments, but I do have a lot of this fine black lace, thanks to Lord Jostan. I might have to improvise some alterations though, the dress is especially form fitting.”
Elli looked through what she had brought, “There should be no problems with altering what we have, Lavett Den’Daleen said he would be by to give us a hand. He’s the lord’s tailor, a mage as well. We’ll get the costumes we want.”
“A mage who is a tailor? Is he an illusionist?”
“No, not at all. He considers himself a tailor, who happens to be a mage.”
“Interesting.”
“Can I ask about your tattoos?”
Ijah was a bit taken aback, she touched her collar bone to the left side of her neck. She did not have a lot of ink, just her profession circle and the marriage bands on her left arm. A bit self consciously she pulled back the collar of the tunic she was wearing, “This denotes my warrior status.” Then she pushed the sleeve up, “And, these are my family bands.”
“No dema markings?”
“Ah, no. Warriors don’t typically get such. Not unless they are older, have moved away from the warriors profession and mastered another.”
“Oh, really? I thought you must be a dema of dance.”
Ijah laughed self consciously, “Now you’re just flattering me. How did you learn about our tattoos?”
“Well, there’s -”
Before she could finish her reply, Thandi came striding into the music room clapping loudly to get everyone’s attention, “Alright people, we have a busy day, anyone who’s not here to play music or to practice with music accompaniment should find some place else to be.”
A handful of people made a hasty exit, then Thandi continued, “Elli, Ijah, I want to see what you two have come up with first. Let’s hope I like it, we certainly don’t have a lot of time for you to come up with something else, if I don’t. All the lords and ladies of the duchy will be at tomorrow’s feast, my reputation is on the line.”
Ijah was annoyed by his commanding tone but everyone else scrambled to clear the floor as Elli moved to the centre of the practice area. Ijah took a calming breath, she pulled off the long tunic she had been wearing then took the centre, facing Elli. The dancer gave her a quick smile as Thandi took his seat and tuned his lute.
When the music started, she and Elli began to move, starting with the more rigid classic forms as befit the start of the song. Surprisingly their timing was good and yesterdays extra long practice had paid off. Neither of them missed nor added anything to what had been choreographed and Thandi played through all three of the classic songs first.
When the third song came to an end Thandi suddenly stopped playing, slapping his hand across the strings of his instrument, “Well done, ladies. Elli, you’ll need to came up with a solo set, strictly classical, take some time to think about what you want to do. Your solo set will be early in the evening. Ijah take a break, I’ll have you up again shortly. Harlon you’re up now, let’s try not to burn the place down.”
Ijah moved off to the side, did some stretches and watched the fire dancer go through his routine. She noted some of the other performers were displaying elevated levels of anxiety. She wondered if Thandi really was such a horrid task master or if the worried individuals had not been disciplined enough in their practice.
A young woman stopped in the open doors to the music room and looked around. Ijah felt there was something familiar about her. She seemed to be taking note of who was in the room, when her gaze met Ijah’s there was a sudden look of recognition. The woman quickly turned away and moved off down the hall.
The woman’s behaviour and her height was all the confirmation Ijah needed. It was the woman she had confronted on the stairs the previous night. The quick withdrawal after seeing Ijah only notched up the Kereshi’s suspicion of the woman. She made her way along the perimeter of the room and stepped out into the hallway.
The woman was not in sight but Ijah quickly followed in the direction she had seen her going. There were a few other doors, most of them closed, up ahead to the left was the stairwell Ijah used to get to her rooms, to the right a bit further down there was in intersecting hallway.
The woman may have fled the immediate vicinity, or she could be lurking anywhere nearby. Ijah thought about the knife she had picked up and slowed her pace a bit. Cautiously she advanced, wary of an ambush.
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