“If you are under any impression that I manipulate my staff’s thoughts, I will tell you now that you’re mistaken,” Marahl said stiffly. “They are their own people and are here for their own reasons. It may be that way in Nyro’s lair, where there are multiple war-avoiders who see his home as an escape or a fun social community and a chance to see the elusive dragorai, but people in this lair have been here for years. To serve. We love the dragorai.” She headed to the door and opened it. “If you want to be part of this lair, you need to manage your expectations.”
“You don’t manage yours,” she said, quietly.
Marahl stilled. “What?”
Elora firmed her mind and forced herself to remain steadfast and not fall back on her usual smiley kindness. “You just made numerous assumptions about Nyro’s lair that you don’t know to be true,” she pointed out. “And you and your staff behave as though I tried to attack and kill your lord, when in reality I was fleeing to safety. I am not like other trespassers—I never would have been on his land if I wasn’t going to Master Nyro’s lair. There is a difference. You are not willing to give me the benefit of doubt, even though I am paying my debt, and I’m happy to do it.” She lifted her shoulders. “At least in Nyro’s lair there is an acceptance that we all come with a past, just like the dragorai themselves, and our pasts aren’t held against us.”
Marahl was silent for a long moment and Elora held her breath. She never would have normally been so direct with someone she’d just met but this lair, and its lord, was bringing out sides of her she didn’t recognize. Still, it wasn’t as though it didn’t need to be said. Maybe this was how she needed to be here.
Marahl sighed. “I’ll be back shortly to give you a tour of the lair, so you can at least start learning your way around.”
Elora relaxed and smiled at her. “Thank you.”
Marahl inclined her head and left.
Pushing herself up onto her unsteady, achy legs, Elora headed to the table, wondering whether Marahl really heard her. She understood what Marahl was saying about the staff and why they might not have been keen to talk to her or be seen with her, but now that she was clearly their lord’s kon’aya surely that would change things.
She took a bite out of the fresh-baked bread and hummed in delight, savoring it. She was starving. For some reason, she hadn’t realized how hungry she was. Thankfully Marahl had provided numerous plates with a range of dishes on them.
As the food warmed her belly, her spirits lifted. Maybe on the tour with Marahl, the other servants would see she was friendly and maybe give her a chance.
Soon after she finished her meal, Marahl opened her door. “Ready?”
They left the room, and Elora made a point to memorize their route.
Walking around the lair with Marahl gave Elora a better picture of what it was like. Marahl explained to her that most of the dragorai lairs were the same size and required a similar kind of maintenance. They came across servants who were busy doing their duties, just like when Elora saw them the day before, except this time they didn’t make it a point to avoid her—but they didn’t speak to her either. Some of them eyed her or asked Marahl what Elora’s role was, but most of them hardly spoke, simply nodding their heads in acknowledgment to Marahl as she passed. And Marahl didn’t stop to speak to them either. Her explanation was that she didn’t want to interrupt them from their duties. Elora began to get the feeling that most of the ones who had ignored her weren’t being intentionally rude, rather, they had a single-minded focus on their chores and she was not important enough to disrupt them.
They came across the young woman in the brown tunic who Elora had seen the day before; she was in a room making candles. Marahl paused to explain to Elora about the room and Elora smiled at the girl. The girl smiled back but continued her duties without a word.
“You said everyone has been here for years,” Elora said to Marahl as they began walking again. “Has she?”
“Yes. She’s been here since she was a young girl. She was recruited along with her brother who works in another part of the lair. They’ve both grown so quickly, I’m not sure they would even recognize each other now.”
“What do you mean?” Elora said, horrified. “Why wouldn’t they recognize each other? Don’t they see each other?”
“The lair is big, Elora,” Marahl said. “As far as I know, they spend time together when they can, but their quarters are located in different parts of the lair since their jobs are different.”
“How long do they work in a given day,” Elora asked.
“Usually from sunrise to sundown,” Marahl said, glancing at her. “What was it like in your last lair?”
Elora’s heart sunk. The culture of this new lair was nothing but constant work, and she couldn’t figure out why. What was the need for everyone to work so hard? Was it the rumbling and shaking that made the lair require more maintenance? Everything she had seen the servants do didn’t look to her as if it had to do with maintaining the structure of the lair, but she couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t seen everyone.
Marahl took her to the kitchens where she met the first friendly face since she’d left Nureen. The main chef was an exhausted-looking, dark-haired man called Boe who had a mischievous grin and a compulsion to have Elora taste everything.
“No more, no more,” she laughed, after trying spoonfuls of eight different sauces. “I will look forward to them on my next meal.”
“Fine,” huffed Boe. “But take these.” He pushed handfuls of sugared almond clusters into Elora and Marahl’s hands. “I was experimenting this week and there are too many for me to eat.”
Marahl tsked. “He just likes feeding people,” she muttered to Elora.
Boe glared at her, even though he never stopped filling her hands with more clusters, and both Marahl and Elora laughed.
“Elora is staying in the lower west region,” Marahl said. “Can you start using the bell in a few days once she’s healed so she knows when she can collect her meals?”
Boe beamed. “Of course.”
“The bell will let you know when dishes are ready throughout the day,” Marahl explained. “Once you get used to the times, you won’t need the bell anymore. Do you think you’ll be able to find your way here?”
“I think so. All I have to do is follow the delightful smells.” Elora grinned at Boe. “The midday meal today was delicious.”
Boe was so pleased he beckoned her over to his stove to show her what was planned for the evening meal, but Marahl intervened and they made a hasty exit.
Elora grinned to herself at the chef’s excitement as they walked through the corridors. So far, he was the only one who showed any enthusiasm or even any interest for somebody new in the lair, yet he was working just as hard as everyone else.
Her good mood didn’t go unnoticed.
“You like meeting people,” Marahl observed.
“I do,” Elora said with a smile. “I think people make life easier most of the time.”
Marahl smiled. “They certainly can make things interesting.”
“Everyone seems interesting so far,” Elora said. “I’d love to meet them when they’re not working.”