The Broken Song

Chapter Four

— Basan, Medyulana —

It was near midday when Lulu finally stretched in her small, comfortable bed, a quiet yawn escaping her as one eye opened to glare at the sun's rays filling the room. Traveling through the veils to reach other worlds was always tiresome. Between that and the long walk home, she had all but collapsed into the bed yesterday as soon as supper was finished. She remembered mumbling a half-coherent goodnight to Idelle before she drifted off into dreamless sleep.

Rare were the nights she didn't dream of the Garden.

The thought roused her from bed quickly, the last vestiges of sleep cast aside as she stood and reached for the discarded garments she had thrown aside last night in haste. If she allowed herself to linger, it was inevitable where her thoughts would turn. She could hear the sounds of everyone outside, laughter and quiet chatter setting her heart at ease. She dressed and made her way outside. Raising her hand to shield her eyes from the harsh change of light, Lulu spotted Uncle Baloren nearby.

He stood near the edge of his home, chopping firewood, his rhythmic motions precise and sure. He had shed his simple cotton shirt, which he had tossed nearby, allowing the sun to kiss his already golden-tanned skin. Sweat rolled down his back, but the sweltering heat of Medyulana never seemed to bother her uncle. To his credit, nothing ever seemed to bother him. He 'had lived through more than a storyteller could imagine,' he liked to say. Lulu knew well what her uncle had gone through. From the youngest Alpha-Commander Valdornne had ever seen to becoming the Lion of Alfheim and Eir'ezaach of the Draagan Horde to tear down the very empire he had once protected, her uncle had lived an eventful life to be sure. Her respect for him was boundless. He was a good man, who had walked away from his past without a backward glance. All he cared about was his family and the future he was building for them in their peaceful secluded slice of paradise.

"I was wondering if you were getting up at all today," Baloren said with a smile before she opened her mouth to speak. The most decorated and respected commander the worlds of Ishara had ever seen, Baloren was a warrior of legendary skill. She had never been able to take him by surprise, not even once. "You feeling alright?"

She nodded as she faced him. He set his axe aside. "Where's Dell?"

"With Rhenna at the moment," Baloren motioned toward the two other houses nearby. "She insisted Idelle braid her hair 'properly.' Teryn and Gael took great offense to that."

Lulu smiled, sitting atop the oddly shaped rock that rested near the pile of chopped logs. As a child, she used to think of it like a rock troll that had rolled up and fallen asleep with its arm thrown backwards over its neck. Her uncle grabbed his canteen, taking a long drink as she gathered her legs to her chest and perched her arms atop her knees.

"Did you make it to Valdornne this time?" he asked quietly as he lowered the canteen. His sapphire eyes held concern. She nodded. "And?"

Lulu grimaced. "It's...worse. Aunt Cara and Uncle Flint are alright, but...they aren't going to be able to hold out for much longer. King Redan was able to ambush them in the middle of the night. He decimated half their forces before they could manage a retreat."

"How far did they have to retreat?" Lulu could see her uncle's mind whirling as he pictured it all as the commander he had been. She knew it was difficult for him to hear of his sister's struggles in the scattered bits of news she could bring to him.

"To the Valley of the Fallen Kings." Baloren cursed under his breath. "The shape their forces were in... I've seen guerilla fighters who have looked better."