Kallah’s mouth acquired a sour tilt, while Myrrah took in a gentle breath and simply released it again with a wry smile. Covering Sid’s hands with both of hers, she said a quick spell of healing.
Tingling ran through Sid’s arms, and when Myrrah lifted her hands away, the blood blisters had completely disappeared. Where they had been, a new, thin layer of callus covered the tips of her fingers in exactly all the right places for playing the lute.
“This is wonderful,” Sid told the healer. “If it hadn’t been for you, it would have taken me days to get to this point.”
“I can give you salve that will soften that thickened skin, if you like.”
“I appreciate the offer, but no.” Rubbing her fingers together, she smiled. “I need them just the way they are.”
“I understand. If you change your mind, you are always welcome to find your way back to me.”
“Thank you,” Sid told her sincerely. She looked past the healer to meet Kallah’s gaze. “Both of you.”
“You’re welcome,” Myrrah replied. “Now, I’m needed back in the infirmary. You can see yourself out.”
“Yes, of course,” Kallah said. As the healer left them alone, she regarded Sid for a moment. “Well now…er, Sid. What an odd name that is.”
“Yours is just as odd to me,” Sid told her.
“I imagine so,” Kallah murmured. She tapped her foot. Then she seemed to come to some decision as her attention refocused, and she said, “Very well. You will do as you were told and clean your room. After that, you will eat something for breakfast. I don’t want to hear of you going back to the music hall until you’ve looked after your own needs and refreshed yourself properly. And for the gods’ sake, don’t fall asleep in the hall again! It is totally inappropriate to use the music hall as your bedroom! You have been given leave to practice there for the time being, nothing more.”
Sid just looked at her for a moment. She said, “You can’t let your own act of kindness go without a lecture, can you?” Then, when color suffused Kallah’s face, she relented with a small laugh. “Never mind. I appreciate what you did, and I’ll follow every single one of your orders. I’ll clean my room, eat, and use the music hall only for practicing from here on out.”
“See that you do,” Kallah snapped. “The servants’ quarters are down that way, to your right. Now, you’ve taken enough of my valuable time this morning. I don’t want to hear from you, or about you, again today. Is that clear?”
Working for Isabeau as her court lady must be a particular kind of unending hell, Sid thought as she listened to Kallah’s scolding. Sure, there might be a certain amount of respect to the job title, but holy God, having to deal with that crazy bitch day in and day out… year in and year out…
Gently, she replied, “It’s quite clear. Thank you again, Kallah.”
Briefly, Kallah met her gaze, and she gave Sid a short nod. Then she pivoted on one heel and strode away.
“Because saying, ‘you’re welcome’ is such a dangerous, difficult thing to do around here in these parts,” Sid whispered to herself.
She had forgotten to take into account the Light Fae’s keen sense of hearing. Down the hall, Kallah spun around to glare at her.
Barking out a laugh, Sid held up a hand. “Sorry,” she choked out. “Have a good day.”
Kallah glared harder. “You’re welcome,” she snapped. Then she whirled around and stalked down the hall until she was out of sight.
Oh lord, Sid thought. This place is so awful, it makes things that are not quite so hellish stand out. Teasing Kallah had been the funniest thing that had happened in days. Weeks.
Rubbing her face, she went in search of her room. Once there, she cleaned up the pile of hair on the floor, made her bed with the blanket, and tucked her tennis shoes into the plain wardrobe.
Then she regarded her dirty outfit from Earth. Somehow the clothes didn’t seem as important as they had the day before. The important things were in her pocket—her twenty-one worry stones and her telepathy earrings.
If… when she made it back to Earth, she had an entire walk-in closet filled with all kinds of clothes and every type of shoe imaginable. She didn’t need this outfit. Still, she couldn’t quite bring herself to burn it.
With a sigh, she pulled out her clean tunic and trousers from the wardrobe, gathered up the dirty jeans and hoodie, and took her drying cloth to the bathrooms. After spending a strenuous amount of time washing her clothes in the tubs of warm water, she wrung them out as best as she could and then washed herself quickly.
Again she lucked out and didn’t run into anyone else while she worked. It must be the wrong time of day to have much traffic in the bathrooms. She was glad for the privacy and made a note to avoid mornings and evenings whenever possible.
On the shelves that held the soft, unscented soap, there were stacks of sticks with stiff bristles at one end set beside jars of mint-scented powder that seemed, when she cautiously tasted it, to be like bicarbonate of soda.
After inspecting both items, she concluded the sticks must be some type of toothbrush. Taking one, she used it with a small amount of the minty powder she shook into one palm and scrubbed her teeth.
The last thing she did was wash the dress she’d been wearing. That went much easier than washing her Earth clothes had. Kallah had been true to her word. After she had dunked the dress into the water several times, she held it up, and the water ran off the material. Within a few moments, the dress was clean again, and almost completely dry.
By the time she had finished her toilette, she was chilled and starving. Heading back to her room, she hung up the wet clothes and draped the drying cloth over the wardrobe door. The clothes would dry more quickly if she could put them out in the sun, but she didn’t know where she could hang out laundry, and she hadn’t been given leave to step outside.
It was clear her behavior was being monitored, and she didn’t want to run the risk of another scolding. She and Kallah might have had a less than acrimonious interaction, but she didn’t confuse that with believing they had built a true rapport, and she didn’t want to strain the Light Fae woman’s patience any more than she already had, especially since Kallah had the ear of the Queen.
Once she had finished her personal chores, she went in search of the kitchens. They emitted a blast of heat, noise, and energy, and were easy to find. Several people worked on different dishes at once while an intense man barked orders.
Sid had slipped in and out of hotels through the kitchens several times in the past in order to avoid overzealous fans and the press, and as she looked around with interest, she thought this kitchen was not unlike those hotels. They had to feed a lot of people every day.
The intense man caught sight of her, left what he was doing and strode over. “Yes?” he snapped. “What do you want?”
“I missed breakfast,” Sid told him. “I hope it wouldn’t be too much trouble to get something simple, like maybe a slice of bread and butter?”
He pointed at her. “You miss a meal, it’s on you. I create court meals every single day, and I see the servants get fed as well. I don’t have time for anyone who shows up here looking for a snack.”
Sid narrowed her eyes. Clearly, there was a pecking order to this castle, and she was tired of being the one who got pecked on.
“I understand,” she said in a soft, even tone. “I have been rehearsing so intensely to play for the Queen I haven’t been able to make mealtimes yet. Perhaps you will make an exception just this once. If I don’t have the energy to practice properly, I’m sure her majesty won’t be pleased at the result or be very forgiving of the reason why.”
By the slight widening of his eyes, she knew she had scored a hit. “Very well,” he said stiffly. “I will make an exception in your case.”
“I appreciate that.” She smiled.
The Queen’s love for music must be well-known. Perhaps there was leverage to be gained from that. It might not win Sid her freedom, but she could make her life a great deal more comfortable until she could find a way to go home. And there was nothing wrong with doing whatever she could to make her life better in the meantime.