She walked along a narrow trail of yellow-brown dirt winding through the forest, curving and twisting around the closely-packed trees. The trail had been created by the forest’s various wild inhabitants—like the small group of grazing deer who had all instantly fled upon spotting her, or the gaggle of gray-furred rabbits scurrying about who’d all made a point of ignoring her, and the family of waddling, well-fed pigs sporting regal red-black coats she’d glimpsed moving along the trail well ahead of her, paying their own royal visit to the forest.
She’d contributed nothing herself to the creation of the trail, a fact that filled her with a certain sense of guilt. Even here, in the forest she’d cultivated by her own hand so many years ago, she felt like a stranger. The struggle that had called her away had been long and fraught with difficulties, and in the years since the forest had grown to such an extent that it was now unrecognizable. But the trees were large and healthy—the saplings she’d brought with her from the east had taken to the rich earth of this foreign land with vital earnest.
The sharp smell of dew and rotting leaves filled the forest’s warm, humid air, and it was too dark to see much of anything beyond the broken wall of trees straddling the trail. Occasionally, shafts of yellow-white sunlight broke through the dense canopy overhead, and it was only by that light that she managed to remain on the path. Something told her that she would find what she was looking for at the end of the trail, like a half-remembered memory dredged up from childhood.
She walked for a long while, enjoying the occasional glimpse of furtive animals and the forest’s wide variety of earthy aromas. Eventually, the trail ended at the base of a mighty tree, the tallest and widest in the forest she’d seen thus far, and the realization occurred to her that it must have been the very first she’d ever planted. Its snarled, rough-looking bark was gray-white, and its many branches were thick and covered with dark green leaves. Massive roots spread out from its base, sinking into the earth like giant, gnarled fingers, and between two of them there seemed to be more than enough space to sit with her back against the trunk.
This is my tree, she realized. It was waiting for me.
Carefully, she sat down in the grass at the base of the tree, leaning back against it. To her surprise, the bark was quite soft and forgiving despite how rugged it looked.
Around her, the forest became still and silent. But rather than causing alarm, the new lack of ambience felt almost anticipatory, as if all the life in the forest had decided to quiet itself in order to give her the respectful welcome she deserved.
Before she could relax, the sound of something else lumbering along the trail became apparent. Measured, heavy footfalls which spoke to the enormous size of the person or creature approaching. She watched the shadows beyond the trees which concealed the trail, wondering who or what had followed her.
A man appeared from the darkness, following the trail. He was very tall and dark skinned, with broad, muscular shoulders, wearing a beautiful white tunic. His long, dark-brown hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, placing emphasis on his high cheekbones and the thick beard of curly hair covering his chiseled jawline.
There’d been a strange fierceness in his brown eyes when he’d first appeared from the shadows, a glow that seemed to speak of violence and battle. But upon laying eyes on her his expression cracked, and a pleased smile appeared on his face. His voice was deep and regal.
“Ah, there you are! I was wondering when I would find you.”
She returned his smile. “What a strange statement to make! You are the one who went missing.”
“Incorrect. You sent me away.”
“I would never.”
“And now who is being strange?” he asked dryly. “May I sit beside you? There is much to discuss.”
“What if I prefer you stand?”
“Why, then I’ll stand.”
“And if I prefer you leave?”
“Then I’ll leave! Again!”
“Goodness! How astonishingly courteous. One might think that I have otherworldly powers of persuasion over you.”
“I am under your spell,” he agreed. “Fully. Completely. Hopelessly.”
She grinned at him, then patted the grass beside her.
“Sit, then!”
He did, and she leaned against him once he’d settled into place, enjoying his warmth.
“You’ve handled our affairs very well thus far,” he said.
“Thank you. Your handling has also been close to flawless.”
“Is that an admonishment I hear?”
“It’s important for you to remain alive.”
A peal of delighted laughter erupted from him, the sound of which sent a thrill of excitement through her.
“...I live for your concern. Don’t fear, beloved, I know us well.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“In the meantime you must manage without me.”
“I will.”
“We’ll be together again soon.”
She looked down into her lap, where her hands were resting. The skin of her hands and forearms was pale.
That’s not right, she thought, confused.
“What is it?”
Her gaze turned upward, and the man she locked eyes with was not the same as before. His skin was pale and his hair was black, his eyes a deep blue. His looks were entirely different from the man before, still handsome but far less kingly. His beard was gone, replaced by stubble, and a look of mild confusion was present on his face.
“Surelin?”
She looked down again, and her skin was now dark. Without warning, the ground beneath her became permeable and gave way. She fell through it in slow motion, and above her the earth rippled and bounced like a disturbed puddle of water. He leaned over to watch her fall, the confusion on his face giving way to surprise.
----------------------------------------
Surelin awoke in a messy heap of blankets and pillows on the cold floor beside her bed. There was a throbbing pain in her neck, and an involuntary groan left her as she lifted her head off the floor, where it’d been resting at an uncomfortable angle.
She sat up and scanned the room through sleepy, half-opened eyes, rubbing the area of her neck where the pain was radiating from.
Another disturbing dream, she thought grimly.
Sunlight seeped through the crack beneath the door. Part of her dreaded the idea of leaving the room to face whatever the world had in store after the previous day’s events. The other part was anxious to simply get it over with.
Slowly, she rose to her feet, and began the process of transferring her bedding from the floor back to her bed. When it was done, she extracted a new blouse and a pair of slacks from her rucksack and quickly got changed. Then she began the difficult task of bringing her hair under control. Keeping it long had always made it frustrating to manage in the morning, but this time it seemed particularly unwilling to cooperate, undoubtedly due to her stay on the floor. After several painful, frustrated attempts to straighten out stubborn knots she lost patience and gave up, hastily using two hairpins to tie her hair back in a loose bun behind her head.
More or less ready, she stepped out of the room, and was instantly greeted with the delicious aroma of freshly cooked bacon. She followed the smell down the hallway to the foreman’s office, her stomach rumbling.
Inside, the table had been set for breakfast. A large tray of cooked bacon served as the centerpiece of the meal, and around it sat several smaller trays filled with dried nuts and berries, along with slices of brown bread and a tall glass carafe filled with water. Edea sat at the head of the table, and to Surelin’s complete surprise Kara was also present. She was seated on Edea’s immediate right, focused on transferring slices of bread and bacon onto her plate. On Edea’s left sat Corrina, the diviner they’d first met at Kali’s temple. The plate before her was empty, strangely enough, and she seemed completely uninterested in the food. A small, unfamiliar pot coated in a solid layer of bright purple paint sat beside her empty plate.
All three looked up when Surelin entered the room, and a look of urgent concern instantly appeared on Kara’s face. She leapt to her feet, and nearly bowled Surelin over with the sheer forcefulness of her hug.
“Oh Sur-sur, I’m so sorry! Your grandmother told me everything! Are you okay?”
The dual shocks of Kara’s presence and the unexpected contact of the hug caused Surelin’s words to fail her. Her head bobbed with uncertainty, silently fighting back a sudden onrush of tears that threatened to overwhelm her.
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“...Yes, I’m okay,” she eventually replied, her voice trembling with emotion.
Kara squeezed her tightly once more before releasing her, and they sat down at the table beside one another.
Edea leveled her placid expression on Surelin.
“Good morning, darling.”
“...Good morning, Grandmother,” Surelin replied, feeling embarrassed at the show they’d just put on. “And good morning to you, Diviner Corrina.”
Corrina bowed ever-so-slightly over her empty plate. “Majesty. It is good to see you, even during this troubling time.”
“We were just discussing strategy,” said Edea. “Corrina has offered her full cooperation with our efforts.”
“Really?” Surelin asked, mildly surprised.
“Of course, Majesty,” Corrina replied smoothly. “The priests and nobles have long dismissed the diviners as relics of the ancient past. They’ve disregarded our influence amongst the city’s population. An alliance between us is sure to cause them consternation, if nothing else. We can take in those in the resistance who become wounded or sick, give them a safe place to recover.”
“I see. Thank you, Corrina. We could certainly use your help.”
A faint intensity then appeared in Corrina’s eyes, though the rest of her expression remained steadfastly neutral.
“Your thanks is unnecessary, Majesty. We all must follow the paths Kali has prepared for us.”
Alarm instantly surged through Surelin, and she looked away from Corrina, blinking rapidly.
“Naturally our cooperation must remain a closely guarded secret,” said Edea. “Kali’s temple is hallowed ground, but nevertheless it would be unwise to give the hussars an excuse to storm it.”
“Naturally,” Corrina agreed.
Surelin turned to Kara. “...I’m beyond glad that you’re here, Kara, but…how exactly did you even know where we were staying?”
Kara had forked a slice of bacon and been nibbling at it during the exchange with Corrina, and she set it down before responding.
“Oh, one of your grandmother’s people approached me a few days ago in the Black Alps. Cel-something.”
“...Celaena?”
“That’s the one. She asked me a load of questions about our journey from Kenan, my business ties and so on. ‘Would I be interested in a lucrative trade agreement which precludes taxation?’ Well, who wouldn’t? So here I am!”
“Kara has agreed to provide us with many of the supplies we will need for the struggle,” Edea said.
“At a nice markup, as well,” Kara added. “Though not too nice. I’m not so in love with money that I’d rob one of my best friends during her time of need.”
Surelin reached out for Kara’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Kara squeezed back, smiling.
“Besides, I respect what you all are attempting to do here,” she continued. “I’ve never liked slavery. It's what keeps the great houses in their cushy positions above the rest of us. And it hurts a lot of decent people.”
“We appreciate your investment,” Edea said serenely.
Surelin stared at her, thinking. Celaena wouldn’t draw breath without gaining Grandmother’s permission first. If Celaena made contact with Kara that can only mean Grandmother was looking into the people who accompanied me from Kenan. Without my knowledge. Or my consent.
After swallowing a piece of dried date fruit, Edea lifted her gaze to meet Surelin’s.
“Is something the matter, darling?”
“You didn’t think it important enough to tell me you’d be inviting two of our allies to breakfast?”
Edea seemed entirely unperturbed by the accusation behind Surelin’s words.
“I thought it would be best to let you rest. You appeared to be rather shaken last night. After all, you did send Marshal Len to myself in order to accept the status report on your behalf.”
A frown crossed Surelin’s face as they held eye contact.
She’s been in an elevated mood since last night, she thought. But why is that?
She couldn’t be sure, but something told her it was related to how she’d been forced to send Gideon away. From the conversations they’d had about the trip from Kenan, Surelin sensed that Edea disliked him, but as far as she could tell they hadn’t even been in the same room together more than once or twice since they’d first arrived in Loso.
Surelin knew from long experience that Edea sometimes saw her personal interests and what was good for the realm as indistinguishable from one another. It had always been something that she greatly disliked about her, though she’d never felt comfortable with expressing it out of fear of damaging their relationship.
I would change that in you if I could, she thought, still holding Edea’s gaze.
Edea then looked down to her plate, forking another piece of date fruit. Surelin looked away as well, and began the process of transferring food to her own plate: three slices of bacon and a single slice of bread, along with a helping of raisins.
“What’s that on your face, Sur-sur?”
Surelin turned to Kara. “...My face?”
“Right here,” Kara said, tapping a spot on her left cheek with two fingers.
“You appear to have a mark on your cheek,” Corrina said, clearly interested.
“Do I? Well, I didn’t sleep very well last night. In fact I woke up on the floor this morning.”
“You rolled out of bed?” Kara asked.
Surelin cast a sheepish look at Edea before responding. “...Yes, I did. I woke up with an awful pain in my neck.”
“She has always been a fitful sleeper,” said Edea. “As a girl she often slept between myself and her grandfather in order to keep from falling out of bed.”
A polite chuckle left Corrina, and Kara let out an amused giggle. Surelin’s face burned with embarrassment.
“I don’t do it anymore! Or at least, I hadn’t done it in a long time. My dreams have been full of disturbing things recently.”
The look Corrina gave to Surelin was almost predatory.
“Is that so? I can interpret their meaning for you, if you wish, Majesty.”
“Um—”
“That sounds lovely,” said Edea. “In our correspondence I’d requested she interpret my own dreams while she was here. It would undoubtedly give you some peace of mind.”
Surelin shot a nervous glance at the pot sitting beside Corrina’s empty plate.
“...I don’t know if—”
“Don’t be coy, darling. Corrina seems more than willing.”
Corrina gave Surelin an eager nod. “It would be my pleasure.”
“Is something wrong?” Kara asked, concerned.
Surelin looked between Kara and Edea, hesitating. Something about the idea of describing her dreams aloud frightened her, as though talking about them might manifest them into reality.
And what will they think of me if I tell them I’ve been dreaming of Kali and Kaan?
“...It’s nothing,” she said, surrendering. “If you’re ready, Corrina.”
In response, Corrina wordlessly rose to her feet, bringing the pot along with her. She sat down again at the far end of the table, setting the pot down before her, then gestured to the seat directly across from her.
“Please sit there, Majesty, so that we may have enough space. The preparation takes very little time. The only thing I will require of you is a small lock of hair.”
Kara and Edea look on in curious silence as Surelin rose to her feet and seated herself where Corrina had indicated. Corrina reached out for the carafe of water and used it to fill the pot with water. With that done, her hand slipped below the table, and to Surelin’s surprise it reappeared clutching a sizeable handful of lilac petals. Corrina squeezed the petals fiercely for several seconds, then tore each petal into small shreds, dropping the shreds one at a time into the water-filled pot.
“If you please.”
Startled, Surelin reached into her pocket for her knife. She pulled a small strand of hair out from her bun and carefully cut off a quarter-inch section from the end. Corrina then gestured to the pot.
“Now place it inside.”
Surelin complied, and as soon as she withdrew her hand Corrina hunched over the pot, staring down into the bizarre mixture at close range. She placed her hands onto the table on both sides of the pot, opening them upwards.
“Place your hands in mine, Majesty. Then close your eyes and tell me your dream.”
Before obeying, Surelin shot a wary glance at Kara and Edea. Both were staring at her with anticipation.
She placed her hands in Corrina’s, then shut her eyes.
“...I dreamed of walking along an animal trail in a dark forest. Somehow I knew that I had planted the forest myself, even though all the trees were very large and looked old. I saw the wild animals that created the trail. Deer, rabbits, pigs…when I reached the end of the trail I found a massive tree, the first one I planted.”
“And then?”
“I sat down at the tree, and a man came out of the darkness. He had a royal disposition, and I liked his smile. We said things to one another that made little sense. I didn’t know him, but I also did know him. I can’t explain it.”
A frustrated sigh left her. “...Something changed when I looked down and saw my own hands. He became someone else, and so did I. Then I was falling. That’s when I woke up.”
Surelin slowly opened her eyes. Corrina’s gaze was still locked onto the mixture inside the pot.
“In this dream, was Kaan the man you met?” she asked.
“...Yes. I think so.”
“And you were Kali?”
“...I...yes.”
Corrina fell silent for a long while, staring unblinking at the mixture floating in the water. When she finally spoke again the words spilled out of her at a rapid pace.
“Winds of fortune blow at your back, guiding you to a new home, one that is different from the old and yet exactly the same. To your right the entirety of creation marches alongside you. A trust exists between you, like the one between mother and child, but the reward you gain from the march will be bittersweet.”
She paused briefly, and when she spoke again her words had a harsher edge.
“On your left walks a shadow disguised in human form, the specter of death. His fealty belongs to you and you alone, and his presence beside you causes the rest of creation to cower with fear. No compromise with him is possible. He will take things from you—precious things. But so long as you give these things to him willingly his gaze will not stray from you. Thus you will tame him, and thus you will succeed.”
After another short pause, Corrina lifted her head and released Surelin’s hands, then let out some awkward laughter.
“I apologize, Majesty. That probably did nothing to clarify the dream’s meaning. I’ve never seen destiny swirling within the tea to such an extent before. I may have misrepresented it.”
“...It’s fine,” Surelin muttered. Corrina’s words had left her shaken.
“Well that didn’t sound like interpretation to me at all,” said Kara, frowning. “That just sounded like a bunch of worthless bullshit.”
“I can assure you that dreams are never worthless,” Corrina shot back. “They are messages sent to us by the inner worlds which rule us.”
Kara instantly rolled her eyes, then turned to Surelin.
“I wouldn’t put too much stock in this stuff if I were you, Sur-sur. Message or no message, it’s not real in the first place. Sometimes a dream is just a dream.”
Surelin studied Kara’s face for a moment, considering her words, then looked to Edea. There was an uncharacteristic amount of anger in her expression as she stared at Corrina, the sight of which left Surelin stunned.
Something that Corrina said must’ve frightened her, she realized. But what?