Daenor remained rooted at the door, causing Myrna to bump into him as she came in. He wore a scowl on his gentle face and his mouth twisted in disgust while his eyes scanned the tiny room.
"It's alright, Daenor. Come sit down." Thonda beckoned to him with an arm stretched out. The young flyer didn't move. He couldn't understand why his mistress was associating with these people. Even worse was her sense of ease – like this wasn't her first time here. He wondered again how that was possible.
"He's just like you were the first time you came." Myrna pushed past him and went to sit beside her mother. Thonda dropped her hand.
"Distrust must be common among you Summit folk," Trienne remarked. She turned her head to where Daenor stood. His brows furrowed in confusion when he saw her face – and her eyes. "Though we should be the ones wary of you. After all, you dispose of us as you please."
Trienne's words struck Daeonor harder than he would have liked to admit. "I am not of noble birth." He argued, but the point seemed lost on the blind seer. She only shrugged as though it made no difference and turned back to Thonda.
"I have missed you, child," She reached out a hand and Thonda grasped it tenderly with both of hers.
"I find it quite odd that I should feel the same." She smiled sadly. "I feel more welcome in this place than in my own home, among my own people."
"We are your people as well. We are all children of Reeth." Myrna covered their hands with her own and the three sat in silence for a moment.
Feeling left out, Daenor moved towards the trio at last but remained standing. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he asked just how they came to be acquainted in the first place.
"It's quite a long story." Thonda replied, taking her hands away and folding them gently in her lap.
"Ah yes. I believe it's time to get to the reason why you're here. The sun is beginning to rise." Trienne said a little too loudly to Thonda, ignoring Daenor's question entirely. He frowned, offended and clearly insulted. Unable to stay in a room where he clearly was not wanted, Daenor made his way back outside the small cottage. No one bothered to ask where he was going or why, which suited him just fine.
Shutting the door behind him, he stood by the door and enjoyed the cool morning breeze. Trienne was right – the sun was in fact beginning to rise, but even its bright rays couldn't completely drive away the perpetual darkness of the lower city. There remained a kind of hue in the air as though someone took a paintbrush and lightly painted it.
The lowercity was a peculiar place and Daenor certainly didn't enjoy any aspect of it. He was grateful for his position as a flyer in the Kareese household because among many other benefits, it also meant he had no reason to venture into these parts of Reeth.
That is until Muri Kareese had it in her mind to come down here yesterday.
It seemed like such a long time ago. Daenor could hardly believe that it just been yesterday she commanded him with such fierceness in her eyes to fly down into the lowercity. Was she that desperate for a cure?
Everyone knew about Thonda's unfortunate circumstances, and he witnessed firsthand as her mother flew her around the city to see different healers of all backgrounds. Daenor remembered one of them; a large, obese man with a pudgy face and black beady eyes. His hair was green quite like some noble children which said something about his origins. What was disturbing about this particular healer was the way he stared at you with those endless black eyes, as if he was looking at you but seeing something else.
Daenor shuddered at the memory. That was the last time he escorted his mistresses into any chamber. With time, he had grown to be fond of his young mistress even though she barely acknowledged his presence. He didn't blame her though, she was fighting too many demons to be bothered by one flyer. She had only just learned his name today. No, she had only just SEEN him today, he had been practically invisible this whole time.
It was because of his fondness that he hadn't alerted the guards when he found her outside the ships that night. He smiled as he remembered how she struggled with the dartship. She had never had a reason to open the doors on her own before.
Something rustled in the bushes beyond and drew Daenor out of his thoughts. Were there animals here? He watched the spot where he was sure the sound had come from, but saw nothing. It didn't help that it wasn't bright enough to see, neither did he have the sharp eyes of a guard or a hunter, but he had his instincts and reflexes honed from several years of flying. Those instincts now told him that something was very wrong.
Keeping his eyes on the bushes, he reached behind him till his hand touched the door. He pushed it open quickly, startling the women.
"We have to leave."
Each of them immediately understood. Myrna sprung to action, grabbing a small dagger from a table close-by and shoving it into a sheath beneath her cloak. She lifted her head to find Thonda and Daenor staring at her curiously.
"What, you kids don't have one of these?" She grinned as she took another dagger from a hidden cupboard compartment and tossed it at Daenor. '"It's a standard survival requirement in these parts. How good are you with that?"
Daenor hesitated. "Enough."
Myrna pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I suppose that'll have to do." She turned to Thonda. "Pull your hood down over your head. If we're being followed, it's best to avoid tempting them further."
Thonda did as she was told. "Do I not get a weapon?" Myrna snorted in response, not even bothering to answer such a ridiculous question with words. It was Daenor who patiently explained that she was more likely to hurt herself than she would any attacker.
Color filled Thonda's cheeks but she said nothing more. They stood around finally, looking at each other in silence.
It was time to leave.
"Myrna," Trienne's trembling voice called out. Myrna went over to where her poor mother sat and took her frail hand in hers. "You must be strong for our little princess here. She will need you more than I do, and you must always be there for her."
Tears sprang into Myrna's eyes. She wasn't sure if she was ever going to see her dear mother again and the thought pained her. She was reminded of all the days they had spent bickering. Granted, it was all in good humour and Trienne knew her daughter loved her, but Myrna had never actually said the words.
She opened her mouth to say them now, but the timing seemed wrong and the words hooked in her throat. She put her mother's hands to her cheek and tried to convey all the emotions she felt that way.
Trienne felt the wetness on her daughter's cheeks and it tugged on her heart. She stroked Myrna's cheeks with trembling hands. She didn't have much time left to live and she knew she'd be gone before her daughter's voyage was over.
"You must be strong." She whispered again.
Daenor cleared his throat softly. "We must be going." He reminded them gently.
Trienne turned to him. "You," Daenor raised a brow at her. "You have fire in your blood. I can see it. You will be a great asset to Thonda and she will be a blessing to you." She grinned the way Daenor had seen Myrna do several times. It was obvious where the young girl got it from. "Do not be sad that I gave you a hard time. I only did it to tease you. I'm an old woman, I don't get much fun anymore."
"I wasn't – "
'And you, Thonda," Trienne said, cutting Daenor off again. "Go and fulfill your destiny. Remember everything I have told you"
Thonda nodded, fighting back the tears coming to her own eyes from watching the mother and her daughter. Myrna kissed Trienne's cheek before standing up again.
"Alright then. Let's go"