The Boarding House

Rorinn left, taking the empty tray but leaving the drink which I had not finished. He promised to return with more food and I realised that I’d been wearing the same clothes for almost a week. The idea of staying in my riding habit a moment longer was slightly abhorrent to me and I became determined to change. I rolled to the edge of my brother’s bed and pushed myself up as my legs swung over the end. My hands pushed the covers back and my toes scrunched against the tickling sensation from the fur rug that just brushed the sensitive pads of my toes. Shuffling forward I waited until my feet were firmly planted on the rug before standing. I stood for about two seconds before I was suddenly sitting back on the bed, bouncing slightly and blinking in shock. If I couldn’t even stand, how would I ever be able to use my powers?

The thought sent a horrible chill down my spine and I mentally scolded myself. One should never be so vulnerable and weak. My parents would never have stood for it, god forbid what state I would have been in if Rorinn hadn’t woken me today, if it even was day. The heavy drapes opened and I saw that I had been wrong, the southern moon hung lazily in the sky, just beginning her climb against the blue-black sky. The door opened and I smiled at Rorinn as his eyes warmed suddenly, a sudden molten gold. I noticed that the tray he held this time was piled with a lot more food and my stomach seemed to growl quietly in anticipation. Again I ate while he talked. This time he told me more about the house, him and his brother. They had been orphaned at a young age and taken refuge in this seemingly abandoned house, unknowing of its ability to move through time and space. A tentative smile curled the corners of my lips as he recalled the first time he and his brother had experienced the house moving.

“…It was as if It had just decided to stand up and walk out of the Amararck plains. We’d been sleeping at the time and rushed to the windows to see a blurred kaleidoscope of colours rushing past us. No doors or windows would open and we were forced to wait it out,” He nodded when I made a small sound of disbelief. “It was as if we were being tested. When It finally stopped we were in the Poleissa fields just south of Polei during the Polei wars so we still couldn’t go outside for fear of death just by being in the wrong place. That was when I found out how powerful Kenwynn was. We knew that the House must have had a core somewhere, he found it and spoke to the House. We came to an agreement and quickly left Polei.” He smiled softly, reflecting on warm memories. Far too soon Rorinn was taking away the second tray, this time with the empty crystal glass after placing a clean set of my brother’s clothes on the end of the bed for me. Once Rorinn had closed the door I reached for them, my body was fully nourished and I could feel some strength slowly seeping into my sleepy muscles. After changing and wrapping a leather belt around my middle to lose some of the bagginess of my brother’s shirt from swamping me, I decided to stand.

After a few failed attempts I managed to stand without wobbling and looked around the room for the first time without breaking down. As I turned more candles burst into life, flames lapping greedily at the air. I poked and prodded into every crevice of the room, feeling every item that my brother stored here, running my fingers over every surface and material, committing it all to memory. My brother may be dead but his presence lingered. Soon I would have to send everything home, but not now, not yet.