Victory of the Stars

Chapter 19

Olive had told Kara to put her in the room next to hers; Vi was the youngest girl to stay at the rebel camp, so she wouldn't be sharing a room with anyone. Kara shared with three other girls, and she'd listened to their noises through the walls as well as the night noises of Valliius. Giggles and whispering and sighs were all normal sounds. Howls and wind and tap-tap-tap-taps were not.
Everything was both foreign and familiar here.
Vi swung her legs out of bed, landing on the smooth wooden floor.
She'd been surprised to see that their rooms were on the surface of the planet, small rustic-looking walls enclosing surprisingly modern bunkhouses, a lot like the barracks in the Galactic Council. Now, in the bright morning light she surveyed the room she'd barely had a chance to see the night before.
There was a big bay window on the side that faced south, with dark navy curtains drawn over it. A small closet that was built into the wall stood next to the bunk bed, with its bunks barely low enough to sit up in. The ceiling was sloped so that the top bunk had uneven amounts of ceiling above it. The bunks had navy-blue mattress covers and grey sheets, along with two pillows. Utilitarian, very clean, and very impersonal.
It smelled like rosemary and thyme. It was comforting, like the herb garden her mom had back home. She had many fond memories of it. Whether it was fresh basil or thyme on top of dinner or leaves for tea, her mom's herbs had always comforted her.
Vi stretched and stood up, running her fingers through her long, thick curls. They were always unruly, but today she felt them weighing her down like they were pond-soaked moss. She was so tired of all the weight.
Crossing the small room in three steps, she opened the curtains and looked out.
The vegetation was just as colorful as it had been the day before, and she saw the twin suns rising behind the western mountains.
She was lost on Valliius. It was too big, too wild, too unfamiliar for her.
Vi sighed. She could hear the girls in the next room starting to wake up but she had no idea what she was supposed to do now.
I wonder if Kara's awake. Maybe she'd know?
The messy, casual air of the rebel base was so different from the perfectly-organized life onboard the Galactic Council's base that it gave her vertigo.
Someone knocked on the door, startling her. She turned so abruptly she tripped as Kara peeked in the door.
"OOP! Ack! Hi Kara," she floundered. "I am totally not falling over in here. Definitely. I am completely used to this planet's gravity. Yep."
Kara laughed and leaned against the door. Her copper-orange curls were glowing in the light radiating from Vi's window and she looked like she'd been up for hours.
"No problem, Vi-child! I've been up since seven for stupid boring stuff and it's almost breakfast time- finalllllllllllly. I came to see if you were up 'cuz it's your first day and Olive said I could like give you the full tour and stuffs cuz like I know we kinda did one last night but you fell over and stuff so yeah we're gonna do another once you're up. Sooooo are you up?"
Vi processed that for a second.
How would she be talking to me if I wasn't up?
"Um, I think so?"
Kara grinned and hugged her.
"Great! Oh, and I almost forgot, I came to give you this!" She held out a small, many-faceted crystal.
"Oh, Kara, it's gorgeous! But-" Kara smiled and shushed her.
"Watch."
Carefully, she tied a string through a previously unseen hole, dangling it to tie a perfect knot at the top as she hung it on a nail over the window. Immedietly the sun streaming in past it turned the room into a symphony of rainbows as the crystal spun, colors spinning and twirling and filling the room, turning everything violet or gold or green.
Vi's face split into a wide grin, and she put her hand on one, marveling at how it turned her pale skin all sorts of colors.
Kara went over to the wardrobe and pulled the doors open, revealing a small sink and toiletry shelf along with the clothes.
"Come on, I'll help you get ready."