Meiris was in a house. One that was unknown to her, but the thoughts whose or how she got there had never crossed her mind.
The particular room she stood in was fairly small, with brick walls and a wooden floor. To the left she noticed an open door to... A kitchen, maybe?
But her gaze didn't linger on it for long- In front of her there was a double window. Through it, she saw a couple houses and tall mountain peaks in the distance. On the inside, she spotted a pretty yellow flower standing on the windowsill, bathed in warm sunlight. Her eyes then turned lower, to a long table with vials, open books and... A dead crow.
No, not a crow... The iridescent feathers and their length were completely off- But she didn't know such a bird.
Meanwhile, her hands... What happened to them? And what were they doing...
It was odd how calm Meiris remained after having noticed it- Multiple sharp, black structures ran along her arms, perhaps bones? It looked like an infection of sorts, but once again, it was beyond her knowledge. The protrusions ended just short of her fingers that were placing something inside the bird's body...
"Easy d-does it now. Wouldn't want to live with a b-broken wing, would I?"
She spoke the words, but the voice wasn't hers. It also made her notice how her body was shaking- She wondered if it really was her body, but the thought was fleeting... The meaning behind that second sentence hasn't confused her for long either.
Her right hand reached for one of the vials containing a dark-red liquid and she brought it to her lips- There was a second of hesitation, but no more, before she drank all of it. The taste was akin to a poorly prepared tea, with a touch of something metallic...
The feeling that came over her afterwards felt familiar- Like when Meiris had killed that rabbit, except it was of much higher clarity. It wasn't just a shapeless hint- No, the texture of what she touched was just as puzzling, but it was sharply defined.
And something... bright? was in the middle of it.
In reality it was neither touch nor sight she used, but that was the only way her mind was able to interpret the sensation.
Shortly, something appeared in her visualization of it- Like a strand... Mana? She felt it being drained...
It connected her to the bright object and thousands of thin tendrils sprung forth. She started weaving them through the thing that she felt, slowly filling it with an intricate web. It seemed random, but Meiris felt reasoning behind every turn.
The work was almost done and then-
"Morning, Princess."
Meiris opened her eyes and saw Jill in the leather outfit, crouching beside the sheets she lay on. A hand was holding her shoulder- Jill must have woken her up... How late was it?
"Better get used to waking up earlier, there's plenty of work waiting for you."
The words barely registered in Meiris' mind as it was busy mulling over the dream... Was it a dream? What else...
"It would be a waste to threaten you for the third time, so I'm just gonna say goodbye. Hope you will still be here in two weeks time."
She stood up and started heading for the door, but paused-
"Just one question- Have you heard of the Wynswith family?"
A matter of curiosity...
Since Jill didn't see the girl as a threat, she hadn't questioned her in detail two days ago. Everyone had secrets that they would rather keep and Meiris hardly looked like an exception to that.
However... She learned some curious news on her first trip to Eighstin in a while- Not long after the use of mind control had shaken the nobility, an old and renowned family fell into ruin. The Wynswiths were perhaps long past their glory days already, but it was surprising nonetheless. Though the mind control marks weren't found, so the two seemingly weren't connected.
After she spoke with Jonarth about Meiris this morning, Jill began to wonder if perhaps she had come from that family? Not that she was a part of it necessarily, but worked closely with them. It didn't have to be as a maid...
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The question has pulled Meiris out from any lingering sleep - her thoughts instantly focused on finding an appropriate answer... Of course she let none of that show, but Jill asking her about the Wynswiths sounded like a trap-
"Nobles, I suppose? I have a vague idea. What about them?"
To keep things coherent, Meiris had settled on a fake backstory of a city girl.
She had been taught a fair bit about hiding truths or creating lies, but all of that took into account who she used to be- A noble. While that was off-limits, so was impersonating someone from the boonies. She was no actress in that sense.
"They bankrupted a couple days ago. I was wondering if maybe you had worked for them?"
That... Wasn't what Meiris had expected. Especially not something so straightforward-
"Oh. No, I hadn't."
She was surprised herself to hear the news...
In a way it was an offer, a past she could claim if she wanted to- But no, Meiris didn't like that idea. Too many unknowns.
Actually, it could have been a lie to begin with...
"I see. Farewell, then."
Jill pulled on the door letting a couple voices through, before she closed it from the other side.
After she had left, Meiris sat there for a second to gather her thoughts after the sudden encounter, before standing up. She was about to pick up her pants, but something wasn't right... Did someone move them?
They must have, because the empty shelves she went to sleep in-between were now filled with some crates. In fact, the whole storage has become noticeably more cramped compared to the last evening.
Apparently she had slept through all that...
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It was nearing nine on the clock behind the bar and most of the guests were already on their way.
Helrin assured Meiris that things would be much calmer today, since nobody wanted to miss the opening ceremony. Though she still had a lot of cleaning left to do...
The next such big wave of customers would come in two weeks, after the closing party- Perhaps that's why Jill would be returning?
"Forgive me for asking, but are you and Jill together?" 'Or were...'
She didn't speak that last part out loud-
In response, Helrin gave a short laugh.
"Surprisingly you're not the first person to think that, but no. She is my aunt, actually."
Something Meiris hadn't even considered as they certainly didn't look many years apart... Or acted in a way she would expect.
"But I will say that she's more like an older sister to me.
"You see, this inn used to belong to my mother, who had inherited it from her father and so on- It's been a long running tradition in her family. Then when my father came along- It just so happened that I grew up together with her sister. There's only six years between us."
This could explain why they had the clothes just lying around...
"We weren't always this close, but with some things that happen in life... It's much easier if you have someone to lean on."
Helrin said all that with practiced ease - no doubt related to him being a barkeeper - but... Meiris was sure she sensed an underlying melancholy to his words- Perhaps he had lost his mother? She hadn't seen anyone at the inn who could be her...
Or was she lying sick in bed, in that room upstairs? Maybe that's why Jonarth made it clear she wasn't allowed inside...
"It must feel nice- Not the things that cause the need, of course, but to have that kind of a person..."
Meiris thought of Thery, reminded of what was now beyond her reach...
"..."
A moment of silence fell between them. Helrin didn't say anything- If she wanted to share a story, he would listen.
"...I think I am going to begin here. Even the stairs have mud on them..."
She changed the subject instead.
"Less than in the morning-"
When Jonarth and Jill went to get the supplies, Helrin did a bit of cleaning whenever he had a break from preparing breakfasts-
"But that is a good place to start. Also, tell me how long the first floor's gonna take you once you're done with this."
There shouldn't have been a need to rush it today, but with how unexpectedly packed they were the other two days- It would be better to have everything done early. Meiris could rest afterwards.
Or - from her perspective - wonder about the dream she had this morning...
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The next few days went by peacefully.
Jonarth would come around the bar once in a while, but it was Helrin and Meiris doing all the work now. Something that was clearly Helrin's intention when he hired her.
As the time went by, she grew convinced that there was something non-trivially wrong with Jonarth, but she couldn't tell what... She also didn't think it was an appropriate thing to ask about, so instead she just went about her day like usual.
But when she was washing a pillow under the shower- A sudden cracking sound came from the item and the water stopped flowing.
Imbued items tended to break at some point, though Meiris remembered only one such case. And considering she used a lot of such items over the years she lived as a noble, it must have been extremely rare...
However, she didn't know that there were many factors contributing to such an item's lifespan.
When she told Jonarth about it, because Helrin didn't seem to be around - he didn't look surprised. Though he did say that it broke sooner than last time. Still, he couldn't be angry. That was already more than he paid for...
Apparently it was made by one of the local magesmiths.
Since Helrin indeed wasn't anywhere nearby and Jonarth wouldn't leave the business in Meiris' hands- She was sent to have it repaired. The fact that he gave her the money to pay for it meant that she had gained a significant amount of his trust- Or so she liked to interpret this.
Unexpectedly, the magesmith that made the tool didn't work at the workshop with the pristine glyphmark, but with the crooked and damaged one. Yet, now that Meiris got to see it from up close... It was in an awful state, no doubt, but even with her lack of understanding of magesmith arts... There was a sense of beauty to it.
It reminded her of the web of strands from then-
'...Had I dreamed of a magic imbuement?'
Only now did Meiris think of that shape in this way. Though her memory of it was now blurry and she had not nearly enough of an idea about those to move forward with this thought...
Maybe it was a lesson in imbuement that she needed to understand what was happening to her?
Keeping that in the back of her mind, she pushed on the door and a ting announced her arrival.