Of Shadows & Light

Ⅴ. Roderick 🗡

The dusk came quickly and the group and I met at the dining room to have dinner. One of the guards had taken over for Rosemary for the night.

"So how's the girl?" Gawain asked.

"She's—frustrating." I sighed, picking at my steak. "All I could get out of her was her age and name. But she kept asking for her bag."

"What is her name?" Rosemary asked.

"Meredith."

Swethyna looked at me once more. "Why is her bag important? All it has are her little light bombs and herbs."

"What kind of herbs?" Aurae asked.

"I don't know. Let me just get the damn thing." Swethyna groaned. Clearly she did not care for this girl and for the herbs she had. But when she found the bag and gave it to Aurae, he immediately found them.

"Did you ask her what kind of herbs?" he asked me.

"No, but she seemed desperate to have them. But lying and saying her bag was in her room was much easier than actually giving it to her and risking her running to the ocean." I picked up a pea. Then when I looked up Aurae was looking at me with shock.

"She's in her room, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah? Why?"

Aurae got up.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"These are medical herbs!" he proclaimed. There was silence. "Bring me to her room."

I got up and he began following me, and so did the others. "Medical for what?"

"Well one's used for anxiety and the other is used for a type of healing. Specifically for the legs."

Shit. If she had just told me they were for medical reasons I would've given them to her.

By the time we were nearing her room, there was a scream. Not a cry. Not frustration. But of fright. I rushed over to the door and unlocked it and when I opened it, Meredith was scrambling in her sheets and a shadow monster with sharp teeth stood on the other side of her bed.

I ran to her to pick her up as Gawain came up from behind me to strike his sword down on the shadow monster. Meredith was shaking in my arms when I pulled her close. She was still in her clothes from earlier but her mask was off and I could fully see her face.

She has freckles.

I took her out of the room but she couldn't move swiftly like she had earlier. Her walk had more of a limp.

Aurae came over to us and handed her bag to her. "Sorry for Roderick's actions. He doesn't think half the time."

"Aurae!" I said, catching his attention.

"He also hates being called out."

Meredith took her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Gawain came out of her room. "Well there's no way you can get that smell out of there. She's better off in another room."

"She can stay in mine." I sighed.

"I'd rather—sleep with the fishes." she remarked. Her voice was shaky.

"We can test that theory." I walked a bit before Gawain put his sword in front of me.

"Once again, he doesn't think half the time." Aurae said.

I guess that was the end of our dinner conversation.

🗡🗡🗡

Once Meredith and I got back to my room, I placed her in a chair. She released a sigh but then winced from her leg.

"Do you need anything with herbs?" I asked.

"No, but I could really use some water." she said, dropping her head.

I went over to the door and asked the guards for water. When I closed the door and looked over at Meredith, she was already smashing herbs in her hands.

"If you had told me the things in your bag were for medical reasons I would've given it to you." I leaned against the door.

"And have you use it against me? No thanks."

"I'm not that insensitive."

She looked up and glared at me. "Yet you lied and locked me in a room."

There was a knock on the door before I could say anything else.

I walked over and a guard handed me a glass of water. I closed the door after giving a nod.

Then I walked over to Meredith and handed her the water.

"Anything else?"

She gave me silence. I rolled my eyes and went over to my drawer on the other side of the room to get a better shirt for sleeping. The one I was wearing was very itchy.