The Witch of Storn

Chapter 20

The curtains over the window fluttered in the breeze that blew into the room as Zaria threw the windows open. Rey looked out of the window as Zaria moved away from it, but all she saw was darkness. It wasn’t exactly darkness; she could make out some trees quite close to the window and tiny insects buzzing around, illuminated by the light that shone out from the room. There were no other lights around though.

Does she live alone?

Rey’s eyes followed her hostess as she bustled about, taking out blankets from the wardrobe and setting them onto her chair and over Rey’s already covered limbs. Rey tried to reject the extra warmth but Zaria assured her she would need them. Finally Zaria was seated in a chair, facing Rey on the bed. She had both hands wrapped around a bowl from which steam curled up and out of, bringing it to her lips at intervals. There was a brief silence as Rey arranged the blankets around her properly. Zaria lowered her bowl of what was probably tea, placing her hands in her lap.

Rey was the first to speak.

“So, where do we start?”

Zaria shrugged elegantly. “You tell me; you’re the one who obviously has the most questions to ask.”

The unspoken ‘I don’t really care about your story’ hung in the air. Rey pressed her lips together and reminded herself to keep calm. Getting angry would be stupid, especially since she was bedridden for an indeterminate amount of time.

“Well, as you already know, my name is Rhaenar—”

“Of what house?”

Rey stared for a moment.

“Does it matter? You’re not even Revonan--”

“It doesn’t, but all the same I’d like to know. Also, I might not be from your country but you would be surprised at what I know. Now, you were saying?”

Rey shrugged. Even if she was in danger, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. On the other hand, if Zaria wanted to help keeping information from her would only hinder her efforts and at worst annoy her so much that she wouldn’t bother with Rey anymore. Rey had absolutely no knowledge of her location and absolutely no money, so she would have to rely on Zaria for a while.

“I am Rhaenar Aera, il Tsaen-"

"The poisoner?"

"What?"

"Weren't you the one who was banished for poisoning the Prince's lover?"

"Excuse you, I poisoned no one," she couldn't say the same for Rhaenar, "and it wasn't even poison. It was a cake the i***t was allergic to but she ate it anyway. Why is that my fault?"

Zaria raised a brow. To Rey the look on her face could only be described as disbelief.

"You don't believe me?"

Zaria shrugged.

"I am only repeating what I have heard."

Rey rolled her eyes.

"I didn't poison her. She did it to herself."

"So you are homeless now?" Zaria said.

Rey was about to give her hostess a caustic retort when she saw the smile Zaria wore. It was a mischievous one, making it apparent that Zaria was joking. She sunk back against the pillows behind her - when did she sit up? She must have been too annoyed to notice.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny."

Zaria lifted her shoulders again, unrepentant.

Rey went on. "I'm not—I was supposed to live in Stormness until the banishment ended."

"But instead you are here, with almost fatal injuries," Zaria said, "I assume that you were attacked on your way here. It is strange though," she frowned, "the bandits around here do not make a habit of killing their victims — it is the other way round. They avoid killing or seriously injuring anyone, so why are you different?"

She looked at Rey, who shrugged.

"It seemed that way for a while, until some guy in a grey cloak showed up."

Rey could still feel the knives digging into her back. She remembered the horrifying sight of Malra, still as a statue. Her fingers gripped the blanket over her knees and she stared at them.

“You don’t have to tell me every detail.”

Rey looked up, into Zaria’s face. Her eyes had softened and she sent Rey a small smile.

“No, it’s fine,” Rey took a deep breath and let go of the blanket, “it wasn’t that bad.” Worse things had happened to her, after all.

“It wasn’t that bad? I found you near death with blood practically oozing from your pores.”

Rey looked away from Zaria’s searching gaze. Obviously Zaria didn’t believe her, but what was Rey supposed to say to reassure her? That she had lived through more painful events? That would be a whole other can of worms she wasn’t willing to ever open.

“We – my maid and I – were making our escape while the guards fended off the bandits,” Zaria frowned at Rey’s blatant avoidance but let it go, “and then Malra just stopped. She was literally a living statue, I couldn’t tell at first but she was still breathing. She just didn’t move and even her eyes were still. Then he appeared.”

Rey paused again. She was grateful Zaria let her do so, only bringing her bowl to her lips again while Rey collected herself. It honestly hadn’t been so scary, if she was being objective. It had been over quite fast; only about twenty minutes passing from when the bandits had jumped out to when Rey’s second life ended. The feeling of helplessness was what lingered. Rey had worked so hard to not be helpless, to make sure that nothing would ever go easy for anyone who had thoughts of taking her down. It seemed it was all for nothing though. Now she was here, not even close to any familiar faces. Even that rat Helcin would be a welcome sight and now she was here in this place she didn’t even know the name of—

“Rhaenar!”

Rey blinked at Zaria. With a loud huff Zaria sank back into her chair, picking up her bowl from its place on the bed. She raised a brow at Rey over the rim of the bowl at her lips.

“I am very fond of that blanket, if you must know. I would hate to have to dispose of after all these years.”

Rey glanced down, releasing the blanket from the vice grip of her fingers. When had that happened? She sent Zaria a contrite look.

“Sorry.”

Zaria waved it away with her free hand. “It is fine, so long as it does not repeat itself. Now, you were saying something about a he? I am guessing he is the man in a grey cloak?”

Rey nodded.

“He is. Apparently he was the one responsible for the web trapping Malra—“

“Webs? Where have I heard that before?” Zaria stopped in the midst of her mumbling and waved at Rey, “I apologize for the interruption, please carry on.”

“It’s alright. Where was I? Yes, the web. Well he accepted responsibility for petrifying Malra with his web and then he tried to kill me with his knives,” she paused, “rather, he played with me like a cat with its prey. And then we got to the cliff. There was nowhere else to run.”

She stopped there. There really wasn’t any need to continue the story; Zaria was intelligent enough to finish it. The woman in question frowned into her bowl. She didn’t say anything, and neither did Rey. The quiet lasted for a good while, only broken at intervals by the sound of tea being sipped and the wildlife outside the house. Finally it was broken when Zaria slammed her bowl down on the bed, a little too close to Rey’s feet for her liking.

“Finally! I have it!”

Rey leaned into her pillows, away from the woman, watching her with wide eyes. Zaria stopped in the midst of her celebration and sat straighter, shifting the empty bowl around a little and clearing her throat. She looked dignified again but nothing could stop the teasing smile that had made its way onto Rey’s lips. Rey didn’t have to say a word; just her look was enough to make Zaria avoid her gaze. It didn’t last too long however; Zaria seemingly grew tired of looking sheepish and took control of the situation again.

“Moving on,” she said, sending a sharp look at Rey, “the man in grey – I have an idea of who he might be,” she paused, “or what he might be.”

Rey’s eyebrows drew together. “What?”

“Yes. If it is not the person I am thinking of, then it is one of that person’s race,” she raised an eyebrow, “somebody must be desperate to get rid of you.”

“W-what?”

Again her fingers were assaulting the blanket. Rey saw Zaria glance at her fingers but she couldn’t be bothered to care this time. Someone actually wanted her – Rhaenar – dead?

The assassin had even confirmed it himself but she hadn’t thought much of it at the time. There had been a chance of going back to Earth and even dying as Rhaenar hadn’t bothered her. Now things were different – she only had this one life and she wanted to live it well. She forced herself to calm down, breathing deeply. Then she let go of the blanket, ignoring the little sigh that Zaria let out.

“So? Who and what was that person?”

Rey was serious now, and Zaria matched her mood effortlessly.

“No one seems to know his actual name, but the name he answers to is Ansian. The Spider. Speak those words and anyone would know instantly who they refer to – are you alright?”

She was not. The mere mention of the name had sent Rey into shuddering so violently that Zaria got up in a flash to cover Rey’s whole body with the blanket. I’m not cold, she wanted to say. The words wouldn’t come out, seeing as her teeth were clacking against each other and her tongue.

In the midst of all this a light feeling washed over her. It made her sleepy and she yawned. She could feel a finger on her forehead moving in a strange path. There were some words being spoken far above her head too. Rey wanted to know what they were but it felt like she was underwater. Her eyes closed soon after and then she knew no more.