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rainbowfic2015-10-17 12:03 am
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2015-10-17 12:03 am
Blue Opal #16, Nacre #3, Rainbow #8
Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Myrrosta
Colors: Blue Opal #16 (practical), Nacre #3 (locked door), Rainbow #8 (bathhouse)
Styles/Supplies: Frame, Seed Beads, Eraser
Word Count: 1,082
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply.
Summary: Ava is taken to her cell.
Notes: More of the Ava kidnapping plot. I'm not sure if this wants to be a full story, but I guess I'll find out! Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
The room she was taken to reminded Ava of her parents’ bedroom in their little house on the coast: sparsely furnished, no ornate decoration, everything arranged to keep the middle of the room completely clear. But there were just as many differences. In the center of Ava’s parents’ room was a colorful patterned rug, a gift from a Mastonian native they’d made friends with. Their room had windows looking out upon the sea, and a large wooden rack to hold Ava’s mother’s weapons. This windowless room had only a rough stone floor, and of course there were no weapons.
It was a prison.
There was a bookshelf, though, a large one that held more books than Ava had been in one place other than her village’s library. She turned to the Araithus, confused.
The salkiy woman gestured to the bookshelf. “This level of the temple is used for students’ quarters. There are only a few here this time of year, so it is ideal for your present situation.”
“I suppose I’m not allowed to touch the books,” Ava said dully. Despite how much trouble she was in, her fingers itched to open one. She wondered what they were about, and if she could even read them. She had mastered the salkiy language as spoken, but her village held no books written in it, and her father had much been interested in teaching her more than a few symbols.
The Araithus blinked at her in surprise. “Of course you may look at the books. Try not to destroy them.”
“If I do?” She would never destroy a book, but the Araithus needed a reminder of how much contempt Ava held for her.
The Araithus shrugged. “It would be a pity, but these are hardly the only copies. Every student room contains these volumes.”
Ava’s eyes widened at the thought of that many copies of that many books. How long had it taken for scribes to transcribe all of them?
“They’re copied by a spell,” said the Araithus, as if she knew what Ava was thinking. Ava was more and more sure that she did. “More of your father’s work.” She smiled wryly.
“Why are you telling me this?”
The Araithus turned away from the bookshelf. “To convince you we need your father. The things he has done for us--” She shook her head. “Surely he can do one more?”
“He owes you nothing,” Ava spat. “It seems to me that you owe him.”
“He made us who we are,” said the Araithus. “Before him, the salkiys were scattered and powerless against the humans. A determined military could have destroyed us, and it nearly did. Thanks to your father, we now hold the power in this land. But it’s difficult, to gain such power from none at all. It was irresponsible of your father to make this and then abandon it.”
“Perhaps he trusted you to take responsibility for yourselves,” said Ava. She sat down on the bed and tried to hide her surprise when the mattress didn’t sink beneath her weight. There was no mattress, she realized, just a thin mat upon a raised platform. “Seems like he was wrong.”
“Your father would be welcome to his exile under normal circumstances,” said the Araithus. “But these are extraordinary times. He owes it to his people to come back.”
Anything Ava could have said would have just swung back around to the beginning of this ridiculous circular argument, so she just crossed her arms instead.
“Through there,” the Araithus said, ignoring Ava’s disdain and pointing toward a blanket hung over a doorway, “is a bathhouse. It is shared with the temple students who live on this level. You will be expected to wash every morning.”
Ava eyed the blanket. “Just on the other side of that?”
“Yes.”
Ava chewed her lip. If her prison cell was usually just a student’s room, then that probably meant the other student rooms connected to the bathhouse as well. Would it be possible to steal away through one of them? Were there empty ones that stood open, or would she have to gain the sympathy of one of the students?
“You will not be able to enter any other student’s room,” said the Araithus, and yes, Ava was certain the salkiy was reading her mind. She clamped down hard on her thoughts. Her father had taught her some methods to keep unwanted intruders out of her head, but she had seldom practiced them as her father was the only one anywhere near her village capable of that kind of trick. And her mental walls, she knew, would be so much paper before a powerful, fullblooded salkiy such as the Araithus. Still, she tried.
“It’s only a blanket separating us,” said Ava.
The Araithus smirked. “It is as if you have never heard of the ethestras. What, exactly, did your father teach you?”
“He taught me to be a good person,” said Ava.
The Araithus’s face hardened. “Admirable, but only if one has the luxury to be so.” She turned toward the door which led back out into the rest of the temple. “You will be confined to this room and the bathhouse. Your meals will be brought to you. There will be one coming soon.” She looked Ava up and down. “Wash before you eat. There are spare robes in the bathhouse for you to wear until more appropriate attire can be brought to you.”
“So you’re just going to leave me here alone?”
“Yes.” The Araithus waved her hand. “Do whatever you wish. Try to escape, if you must. But you will not be going anywhere until your father has agreed to help us.”
“It’ll take months,” said Ava. “He’s all the way across the western sea. It’ll be a year or more before he can respond to your message. There’s the spell you brought me here with, but given what’s happened, do you truly trust it? What if you brought someone more dangerous than me next time?”
The Araithus only smiled indulgently at her. “There is so much you do not know.” And with that, she was through the door and gone.
Ava laid down on the mat and stared at the ceiling. Despite what the Araithus said, there had to be a way to escape. Her mother had once been a spy, and Ava’s skills didn’t entirely come from her father.
She stood up, and headed toward the bathhouse.
kay_brookeStory: The Myrrosta
Colors: Blue Opal #16 (practical), Nacre #3 (locked door), Rainbow #8 (bathhouse)
Styles/Supplies: Frame, Seed Beads, Eraser
Word Count: 1,082
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply.
Summary: Ava is taken to her cell.
Notes: More of the Ava kidnapping plot. I'm not sure if this wants to be a full story, but I guess I'll find out! Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
The room she was taken to reminded Ava of her parents’ bedroom in their little house on the coast: sparsely furnished, no ornate decoration, everything arranged to keep the middle of the room completely clear. But there were just as many differences. In the center of Ava’s parents’ room was a colorful patterned rug, a gift from a Mastonian native they’d made friends with. Their room had windows looking out upon the sea, and a large wooden rack to hold Ava’s mother’s weapons. This windowless room had only a rough stone floor, and of course there were no weapons.
It was a prison.
There was a bookshelf, though, a large one that held more books than Ava had been in one place other than her village’s library. She turned to the Araithus, confused.
The salkiy woman gestured to the bookshelf. “This level of the temple is used for students’ quarters. There are only a few here this time of year, so it is ideal for your present situation.”
“I suppose I’m not allowed to touch the books,” Ava said dully. Despite how much trouble she was in, her fingers itched to open one. She wondered what they were about, and if she could even read them. She had mastered the salkiy language as spoken, but her village held no books written in it, and her father had much been interested in teaching her more than a few symbols.
The Araithus blinked at her in surprise. “Of course you may look at the books. Try not to destroy them.”
“If I do?” She would never destroy a book, but the Araithus needed a reminder of how much contempt Ava held for her.
The Araithus shrugged. “It would be a pity, but these are hardly the only copies. Every student room contains these volumes.”
Ava’s eyes widened at the thought of that many copies of that many books. How long had it taken for scribes to transcribe all of them?
“They’re copied by a spell,” said the Araithus, as if she knew what Ava was thinking. Ava was more and more sure that she did. “More of your father’s work.” She smiled wryly.
“Why are you telling me this?”
The Araithus turned away from the bookshelf. “To convince you we need your father. The things he has done for us--” She shook her head. “Surely he can do one more?”
“He owes you nothing,” Ava spat. “It seems to me that you owe him.”
“He made us who we are,” said the Araithus. “Before him, the salkiys were scattered and powerless against the humans. A determined military could have destroyed us, and it nearly did. Thanks to your father, we now hold the power in this land. But it’s difficult, to gain such power from none at all. It was irresponsible of your father to make this and then abandon it.”
“Perhaps he trusted you to take responsibility for yourselves,” said Ava. She sat down on the bed and tried to hide her surprise when the mattress didn’t sink beneath her weight. There was no mattress, she realized, just a thin mat upon a raised platform. “Seems like he was wrong.”
“Your father would be welcome to his exile under normal circumstances,” said the Araithus. “But these are extraordinary times. He owes it to his people to come back.”
Anything Ava could have said would have just swung back around to the beginning of this ridiculous circular argument, so she just crossed her arms instead.
“Through there,” the Araithus said, ignoring Ava’s disdain and pointing toward a blanket hung over a doorway, “is a bathhouse. It is shared with the temple students who live on this level. You will be expected to wash every morning.”
Ava eyed the blanket. “Just on the other side of that?”
“Yes.”
Ava chewed her lip. If her prison cell was usually just a student’s room, then that probably meant the other student rooms connected to the bathhouse as well. Would it be possible to steal away through one of them? Were there empty ones that stood open, or would she have to gain the sympathy of one of the students?
“You will not be able to enter any other student’s room,” said the Araithus, and yes, Ava was certain the salkiy was reading her mind. She clamped down hard on her thoughts. Her father had taught her some methods to keep unwanted intruders out of her head, but she had seldom practiced them as her father was the only one anywhere near her village capable of that kind of trick. And her mental walls, she knew, would be so much paper before a powerful, fullblooded salkiy such as the Araithus. Still, she tried.
“It’s only a blanket separating us,” said Ava.
The Araithus smirked. “It is as if you have never heard of the ethestras. What, exactly, did your father teach you?”
“He taught me to be a good person,” said Ava.
The Araithus’s face hardened. “Admirable, but only if one has the luxury to be so.” She turned toward the door which led back out into the rest of the temple. “You will be confined to this room and the bathhouse. Your meals will be brought to you. There will be one coming soon.” She looked Ava up and down. “Wash before you eat. There are spare robes in the bathhouse for you to wear until more appropriate attire can be brought to you.”
“So you’re just going to leave me here alone?”
“Yes.” The Araithus waved her hand. “Do whatever you wish. Try to escape, if you must. But you will not be going anywhere until your father has agreed to help us.”
“It’ll take months,” said Ava. “He’s all the way across the western sea. It’ll be a year or more before he can respond to your message. There’s the spell you brought me here with, but given what’s happened, do you truly trust it? What if you brought someone more dangerous than me next time?”
The Araithus only smiled indulgently at her. “There is so much you do not know.” And with that, she was through the door and gone.
Ava laid down on the mat and stared at the ceiling. Despite what the Araithus said, there had to be a way to escape. Her mother had once been a spy, and Ava’s skills didn’t entirely come from her father.
She stood up, and headed toward the bathhouse.
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