Undestined: Fight your Fate

Chapter 10: Whispers of War, Pt. 2

Silay woke up to the soft pitter-patter of rain on the roof. She yawned and stretched out her arms, then rolled over onto her side, pulling the sheet around her. She was very much awake, but didn’t want to get out of bed just yet. Instead, she stayed still, eyes half-closed, enjoying the comfort that comes from hearing rain fall outside while you are inside and warm. 

The sounds of someone making tea in the next room finally roused her. Careful not to wake Riya, Silay slipped out of their room to join Jarlen in kitchen.

“Glad it didn’t do this while we were travelling,” Silay commented softly, glancing at the closed shutters.

“We were blessed with good weather,” Jarlen agreed. He carefully poured the boiling water into a teapot, then added a generous heap of leaves. Silay grinned as she watched.

“It’s been a while since we had an actual teapot.”

“It’s been too long.”

Jarlen set the pot down on the table, while Silay rummaged through the cupboards. She returned to the table triumphantly bearing three teacups, complete with saucers.

“My, aren’t we civilized now.” Riya stepped into the common room and joined the two at the table. “First beds, and now teacups. We’re lucky no one else was using this house.”

“It isn’t really luck, though.” Silay spun the empty cup in its saucer. “I mean, nobody is really travelling now, because of the plague.”

“True.”

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. They all exchanged glances.

“Oh, fine.” Jarlen stood up. “I see how it is.” He opened the door. “Yes?”

“Good morning.” The man outside held up a basket. “The City Council thought you might be wanting something to eat for breakfast. Also,” he held up a sealed sheet of paper in his other hand, “they have a message for you.”

Jarlen took the basket and the note. “Thank you.”

The man continued to stand outside. Jarlen glared at him. “We just arrived after being ambushed on the road. If you’re waiting for a coin, go ask whoever sent you.”

The man blinked, then quickly turned on his heel and hurried off. Jarlen was still glaring when he turned back around after closing the door. Silay barely held in her laughter as she jumped up to relieve him of his burdens.

“You are grumpy in the morning.” She set the basket on the table.

Jarlen sat down again, and Riya filled his cup with tea. He pushed it away and reached for letter Silay had set in front of herself. “We should read that.”

“Uh-huh.” Silay slid the letter out of his reach. “You said it yourself. We’ve had a rough time of it. We are going to eat breakfast first, then see what the Council wants. If it was important, then someone would have been sent to tell us.”

“I agree.” Riya pulled a roll out of the basket and bit into it, closing her eyes as she did so. “Mmm. Still warm.”

Jarlen’s stomach growled audibly, and this time Silay didn’t hold back her laughter. “See! Even your stomach agrees with me. Now drink your tea and eat your breakfast.”

Jarlen raised his eyebrow. “You sound like my mother.” But he did as Silay asked.

It was hard to eat slowly after eating nothing but travelling food for so long, and they soon finished off the contents of the basket. Riya cleared off the table and Silay pumped some water to rinse out the teacups. While they did so, Jarlen broke open the seal on the paper, and skimmed the letter’s contents.