But then again, they areactuallyrags, and putting them back on would be a challenge. So, I decide to take the risk. There’s a pit in my stomach as I walk away from those abandoned clothes, wrapped only in a towel.
The room Helena brings me to is very near to the cascade, as promised. We walk down one hall for less than thirty seconds and then into a room.
Aside from the cascade, which is different for obvious reasons, every room I’ve spent time in has felt like a cave with a few comforts and decoration to hide its true form.
This room is bright and open. The floor is carpeted, and the walls are so covered in drapery you can see little of the stone beneath.
It is bright and open—is that sunlight coming from the next room?
A breeze caresses the exposed skin of my neck and arms, and I breathe in deeply. Fresh air. How?
I peer around the corner, hoping to see through the partially open curtains.
“You’ll see, Drahkita, when you meet the dressmaker. But first, let us get you enough strength to make it through the next hour.”
I don’t know what she means until she comes back with a brass pitcher and a plate of meats and cheeses. She places both down on a table in the corner of the room. “Eat as much as you’d like. They always suggest the outsiders eat slowly for the first few days, but I never have the heart to enforce it when they come in looking like a starved animal.”
I am too distracted by the food to mind her kindness wrapped in insult. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I am a starved animal, because I shove as much of the meat into my mouth as I can. I close my eyes, feeling the energy pool into my bones before it even reaches my stomach.
The effect that just access to food alone has on my mind is powerful.
“You should at least try to taste it, though, Drahkita.” She chuckles. “It is spiced meat and pepper relish cheese. You will enjoy if you take your time.” She also pours me a goblet of yellow liquid.
“What is that?”
“Lemon water. It is both refreshing and delicious. Try it.”
I haven’t had lemons since I was a child. Where do they even get such things? They can’t possibly grow crops below ground. But then, I remember the greenery of the forest outside the cave. They must have the ability to farm somewhere nearby.
I try a sip of the juice and wince at the sour taste. I blink, though, when I find it surprisingly sweet as well.
She chuckles at my expression.
“This is why I love this role, Drahkita. To see someone who has suffered as you have, who has barely survived on little food, experience this for the first time is truly magical.”
I believe in the sincerity of this girl. She wishes to help me and thinks I am gaining a blessing by being here.
I do appreciate the momentary respite from the fear. The experience of new, delicious tastes on my tongue and the comfort of warmth and a friendly face.
But even so, if the doors were to open and allow me to run from this place, I wouldn’t hesitate. I would flee into dangerous woods and never look back—clothes or not.
I know well and good that any doors here are sealed shut. They will not open freely for me, and so, I will wait for the right time to force my way out. I will carve my way through, one inch at a time, if I must.
A tiny bell tingles, and Helena grins. “It is your time! Come, come.”
I follow her past the curtain and into the room of sunshine and fresh air.
Though we are still in a stone room, there is a circular opening where I can see the valley filled with trees. We are not as deep underground as I’d thought. In fact, we are above at least some portions of the forest.
I close my eyes, breathe deeply, and let the feeling fill my soul.
“They’ve brought me a drowned rat, I see,” a voice purrs harshly. “These boys get more and more desperate.”
My eyes fly open to find a woman with dark skin and a red gown with strips of fabric flowing from her arms.
She looks me over, head to toe, circling me like a bird of prey.
“I suppose I see the potential.” She grips my still dripping curls between two fingers. “It is a lovely color.”
