Nethermost Realm: Prisoner of Arlunn

Chapter 6

Please note: I am updating this draft of The Prisoner of Arlunn. The most important change is that the main character's name has been changed from Philip to Rian.

6

Morning came again and Anya arose refreshed and happy to start her day. She loved being in Chuness: the beautiful buildings, the gardens, the plentiful sunlight.

Today, she would meet her new teacher and she'd never been so excited at the idea of learning as she was today.

She got dressed, this time she wore a simple tan blouse, a short, tight leather vest and and amply gathered brown skirt that was halfway from fun to practical. To give her a pilot look, she wore a white scarf around her neck and a pair of round sun goggles on her head. She felt very pleased with herself, as she turned and examined herself in the mirror.

Just like yesterday, Leeza arrived at her door, much earlier this time, to escort Anya to breakfast. Leeza, as usual, was dressed in conservative Edwardian fashion. She wore a cream colored Empire waist gown with gathers and lace on the hem and arms, with light blue trim.

Aldena was not there, however; she had gone to Dagenpark, which was an hour away, so she wouldn't be back until the afternoon. After a light breakfast of eggs and rolls, she followed Leeza to meet her new teacher.

Most of the palace was occupied by the House of Draven, to which Shaz—still the Heir of Chuness—belonged. His mother, Gwindle, came from the House of Silverham. None of them seemed overly friendly and Anya didn't like meeting them in the halls—or the cold looks, the minimal curtsey, and the awkward well-wishing.

They headed for the Northeast Tower, one place that Anya hadn't seen on the tour last night that Powell had given her.

They climbed up one set of stairs inside the tower to reach the second level. Here was a small study full of books. Three or four desks occupied the room, but all but one was so full of books that they rendered the desk useless. No one was in the room.

"Your teacher is Merewyn of Waltstanton. I'll return for you in four hours."

"But—" objected Anya, but too late. Leeza was gone.

Anya wandered around the room. She wore her charmed hat, which allowed her to understand the language of Cathal. She'd already tested it and found that it didn't work on writing. She still couldn't read anything.

Anya strolled around the room, glancing at books and trying to decipher what they were about by the pictures.

"What are you doing?" demanded a voice behind her. She whirled around to see a tall silver-haired woman staring at her with hands on hips. Her hair looked naturally silver, not silver from age. She looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties.

Anya dropped the book she was holding onto the desk.

The woman wore a grey proper light green Victorian style dress with puffy sleeves and a very long and layered skirt. She wore a pair of what Anya thought of as naughty-librarian glasses, with small round lenses. Something about the woman's eyes seemed wrong. They were gray to match the color of her hair but they caught the light the same as a cat's eyes did. And her skin had a reddish sheen to it, in the right light.

"I'm Anya," she said, awkwardly. "Aldena's daughter."

"Oh, yes," said the woman, as if suddenly remembering. "Is it time already?" she asked, looking around as if suddenly lost.