The Starry Sky - A Darkling/General Kirigan Prequel

7

She was sat opposite him at the large ebony table in the centre of their shared common room, picking at the plate of food in front of her.

"I hate herring." Anna muttered, pushing the oily fish around the porcelain dish with the prongs of her fork.

"It's hardy." The Black Heretic responded, not looking up from the papers he was reading.

"It's disgusting." She complained, plucking another piece of bread from the platter in front of her. It had just struck seven bells, and Anna had been awake for over an hour, trying to kick her body into motion by walking circles around the rooms. The Black Heretic hadn't expected her to wake up so early, so she'd had to wait for some breakfast to arrive for herself as she'd refused to eat the food meant for him. "What do they eat in the palace?"

"Pastries, jams, fruit. Things like that."

"Are we not allowed that? I thought fruit was healthy." She rested her chin on a hand, watching the men opposite her. The corners of his lips crept up, and through his messy hair he looked up at her.

"I've never asked for it, I think that would push the King's generosity too far." He waited for a moment, shuffling the papers he'd been reading back into one pile, "And fruit is healthy, it just isn't very sustaining."

"But smuggling eight Fjerdans into the Palace isn't pushing his generosity? And I thought he was 'harmless', as you put it. I'm not sure your priorities are straight."

"Well I brought you here for a reason, so if you think having fruit for breakfast is having straight priorities, do that."

"You're going to regret saying that." Anna teased, jolting to face the door on the right wall as it banged open, revealing Tuya and Oni. Oni scowled at Tuya, who had a powerful blush growing on her face.

"Sorry, moi sovernyi." Tuya said, making sure the door closed softly behind her. They'd come from the Palace, both of them with bundles of cloth in their arms. The Black Heretic gave Tuya a slight assessing glance, but he didn't wipe the gentle smile from his face.

"Anna, I'll be in the map room later, if you need me. Though... it looks like you may be busy." He remarked, seeing the piles the girls were holding, before turning back to his room.

"Wait." She said, her voice coming out a octave too loud, "What am I meant to do today."

"I'm sure Oni and Tuya can give you a tour." The pair of them nodded profusely, "Talk to people, get to know what happens here. And if you really can't find anything to do by dinner you can come and join the meeting we'll be having." Knowing her job was supposedly to run the place with The Heretic, she felt slightly bemused that she wasn't immediately being asked to join meetings, but upon seeing one of the papers he'd been reading as she ate (many mentions of The Vy, and trade routes across the sea), she decided she may prefer a day with Tuya and Oni.

Once he'd left and Anna was left with the two women Tuya broke into a crazed smile, lifting her arms slightly to make the pile of fabrics more apparent.

"We've got you some clothes." She said with a grin, walking across the room to Anna's chambers, "Come, come." Excited by the prospect of finally having a wardrobe of clothes again, Anna ran to her large, sable-coloured doors and held one open as Oni and Tuya bustled past. Back in the Wandering Isle Anna had hundreds of dresses in all different colours and fabrics, topaz yellow evening gowns, scalloped chiffon day dresses, nightgowns with embroidered scenes of woodland animals; but when she'd left, just over a year ago, she'd only taken with her the dress on her back, a heavy umber one she'd stolen from one of the maids. She didn't even have a nightdress or shawl.