Fractured Soul

Chapter 42: Koa

Gareth and Mella were silent as they walked downstairs. Mella's curiosity got the best of her in the end.

"Why is everything made of wood? And how?" Everywhere Mella looked, there was wood. The walls, the stairs, the pillars, wood, wood, and more wood. The strangest thing was it was all seamless. There were no sharp edges or angles, no nail holes anywhere. Just knots and whorls in the wood.

Gareth had the barest trace of a grin on his face. "You'll see. It's beautiful to look at, especially at night. But first things first. You probably want to clean up and change."

Mella looked down at herself. She was covered in dirt and dried mud in places. Gross. "I think that would be best. Don't want people freaking out about me."

The young man laughed. "No, we wouldn't like that at all."

Gareth showed he to a bathroom with a closet. "Enki brought some of her clothes for you. She's a little taller than you but they should fit."

Mella was about to say she had her own clothes, but she didn't know where her bags were. She'd have to ask him, and she wasn't in the mood.

"Thank you, and Enki, whoever she is."

"You'll see her soon enough. She was one of the people that found you, along with Drake. The one with the snake."

Mella remembered who she was. It had been the girl who had brought the book, moments before she had seen the memory. "Hey, Gareth--"

"Mella, I'm sure you have questions, and I'll try to give answers, but you should get cleaned up. There's time enough for questions. By the looks of things, you aren't in a hurry to see Wesley again anytime soon." Mella's expression darkened at the mention of the prince and time. Gareth showed the ghost of a grin again. "I rest my case. Go on. I'll meet you downstairs. This staircase leads right down to a commons for the infirmary."

Mella nodded and stepped into the room Gareth had pointed out, to reveal more wood and leaves. The only things that didn't look like a part of a tree were a small stack of towels and soap in the shape of a strawberry.

Okay, where's the tub? Mella looked around. There was something off about the far wall. Mella walked closer and realized it was a partition with a round tub (more wood) in the floor. Sneaky…works for me.

Twenty minutes later Mella was walking downstairs, clean and changed. Enki's clothes fit her surprisingly well. Mella had pulled a pale green tank top and a brown floor length skirt from the small pile of clothes. She kept her boots, because the shoes were way too small.

The stairway opened up to an empty room, save for two people. Drake and Gareth were talking rapidly in quiet tones that echoed through the room. Mella looked up. The 'room' was larger than she thought. Another staircase spiraled up around the outside edge of the room, with spots intermittently opening up, probably to more rooms.

"Why can't I go see Mella? His royalness gets to."

"You know why he gets to, Drake. And it would be pointless for you to go up there now." Gareth was looking over Drake's shoulder at Mella.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm right here." Mella said quietly, the echo carrying her voice.

Drake whirled around. "Mella! You're awake!" He went to hug her but Mella took a step back.

"Not in a hugging mood, so please don't." Drake visibly sobered up. Mella felt a twinge of guilt for that. He had obviously known the elementalist before the attack, her memories told her as much. He must see something in her for him to be so…emotional about her.