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Casja
THE WHISPERS AND THEglaring resumed as I entered the great hall, but unlike all the other times, I did not think it mattered.
The soldiers had taken Liltra away first thing in the morning. After the sleepless night I’d spent staring at the chandelier above my bed, thinking about Liltra and the things Orla had said, I heard voices outside and stepped out to watch as they carried her off the room.
The rest of the day had passed in a blur.
I saw Seren briefly in the hallway around midday, and she told me that they would burn Liltra’s body. Seren could not take time off from her duties to attend her friend’s funeral. She had said so with tearful eyes that made my heart ache.
The funeral would be held tomorrow, two days after her death. I did not know if I was going to attend it. Funerals always reminded me of my mother, and I was unsure if I needed that right now. Besides, I didn’t actually know Liltra.
The great hall was packed. Fae ate and chatted, and a minstrel played an upbeat song at the corner. Everything looked the same as always, except for the red eyes of several servants. The lords and ladies of the realm did not know that Liltra was no longer with us.
I wasn’t sure if they would care even if they did know.
After revealing her suspicions to me, Orla had left, claiming she needed to tell the king what had happened to Liltra. She had told me that she could not be sure if her suspicions were justified. It was her job as the king’s mind magicker to look into anything out of the ordinary, and sometimes that made her too suspicious of things that could easily be explained away.
Still, she got me thinking.
As I quickly ate my supper, I closed myself off to the rest of the great hall. The conversation that went all around me did not seem as important as it did before Liltra’s death.
I did not care that I was unwanted by most of the Unseelie. I did not hear their hurtful words.
My focus was inward, and until I saw Seren carrying a tray of jugs, I ignored what was happening around me.
She did not see me.
She placed the jugs on the tables and turned away only when her tray was empty. Her eyes were red and swollen, yet, she still had to force a smile on her lips when one of the ladies waved her hand and commanded her to bring something.
Seren turned around to leave the great hall using the eastern door, and I dropped my fork to follow her. I did not dare to shout after her, fearing that someone would realize the odd connection between us. Instead, I walked by tables amidst the usual murmur that followed me wherever I went, and I followed her out the door and into a relatively empty hallway.
She was a few paces away from me, walking with the tray still in her hand. Her back was turned. She looked small compared to the wide hallway and the tall ceilings, so much so that she might have disappeared if I hadn’t been there to notice her.
“Seren!” I shouted then, my voice croaked as I did. This was the first word I’d said all day.
I coughed to clear my voice as she turned around. Her lips trembled with fear until she recognized me. Then, she started fumbling with the tray she still held and avoided my gaze as though I reminded her of the thing she was trying to forget.
“Yes, my lady?” She asked politely.
I walked toward her.
“How are you?” I asked.
She waited for me to reach her.
“I...” her voice trailed off as her eyes widened with surprise. She recuperated quickly and pushed away the last remnants of emotion from her face. “I am fine, my lady.”
“Are you?” I asked, looking into her eyes to see her answer rather than hear it. “They shouldn’t make you work today. You are in no condition to serve. Do you want me to talk to someone?”
I did not know with whom I would talk about this. Perhaps Orla could help, but I wasn’t sure if it would be proper of me to ask her for something like this.
“No need, my lady,” she replied quickly. “It’s better to do something than sit in my room and think. I don’t want to go to my room anymore. It feels too close to her.”
I knew what she was talking about. Liltra’s room in between ours was like a void. It felt like it could pull me inside once I closed my eyes. That was one of the reasons why I hadn’t been able to sleep all night.
“I will ask them to give you another room,” I told her.
Her gaze twisted with sadness, and I felt stupid. Changing her room or taking a break from work would not help. Her best friend was gone, and she had to feel all this.
