Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [138]
“I didn’t much like questing,” she said, barely above a whisper.
Paladin nodded. He didn’t look surprised or upset over her admission.
Kale remembered Fenworth’s words. “Questing is often uncomfortable.”
Paladin smiled, and Kale knew he recognized the wizard’s thinking.
“Unpredictable,” he added.
Kale nodded, looking into his eyes and knowing he would not condemn her for her choice, no matter what it was.
He left, carrying the empty bowl. Kale got out of bed and sat in the window seat, gazing out at the peaceful countryside. Its blanket of fresh snow glowed under a full moon in a clear sky.
There must be a million stars in that sky. Librettowit said that Wulder knows each of their names. Paladin knows my name…so does Wulder. She tucked her chilly toes beneath the long nightgown. I don’t have to decide tonight. I don’t have to decide until spring.
The days that followed gave Kale a most wondrous taste of belonging. She sat with Ornopy’s girls and learned to sew at Dar’s instruction. Librettowit regaled them with hours of stories and taught them history. They danced with the kimens and did chores with Mistress Moorp. And the chores were not drudgery, but fun because of the companionship.
Librettowit and Fenworth told legends and tales of old. Leetu and Dar demonstrated juggling feats. Everyone gave it a try but only ended up laughing more than catching the objects thrown in the air. Brunstetter and Lee Ark knew an astounding number of games. Members of the household and guests played every afternoon in the light of the sunroom. Contented, Kale took pleasure in each moment she spent as a part of this happy entourage.
The days lengthened. Crocus and springbuds poked their colorful heads through the last of the snow. Birds flew back into the o’rant valley from the south and began nest building. Lambs, calves, and colts frolicked in the pastures.
Kale made her decision.
One day, when the breezes chased away puffy clouds that had sprinkled the newly sown fields, she looked at the broken slopes of the shorter peak of Tourbanaut and sighed.
“There is one thing I must do first,” she said to the empty road. “I must go find the meech egg, or what’s left of it.” She did not look over her shoulder at the massive bright walls of Ornopy Halls. She didn’t go back to gather provisions from the ample supply of kitchen cupboards. She wrapped the shawl she’d knitted at Mistress Moorp’s hearth around her shoulders. She set her eyes upon her goal and started the long walk back to the wrecked entrance of the abandoned tumanhofer mine.
50
STANDING TOGETHER
Muddy waters swirled in the streams coming off the mountain. With the spring thaw, melted snow washed down the slopes, creating rivulets that ran together, making tumbling brooks and swift, quiet rills. White mountain dewdrops, tiny flowers on mosslike plants, covered the ground.
The smell of new grass, damp earth, and sweet dewdrops filled Kale with exuberance. She climbed rapidly, using paths well worn by shepherds and their flocks. As the sun began to sink to the west, she stopped and surveyed the countryside now spread below her. Sighing, she sat on a boulder and gazed with contentment at the valley of the o’rants. She easily picked out Ornopy Halls, three beautiful buildings with an elegant wrought iron fence around them and a straight road running out its front gate.
It’s been home to me as if I’d never had a home before. But Paladin put a claim on my heart as well as my life. I want to go to The Hall.
She stood and began the more arduous climb up broken granite and shifted crags. The cool mountain air penetrated her clothing. Shivering, she wished she’d brought something a little more practical than the shawl.
Granny Noon’s moonbeam cape always kept my body warm. I must find the cape and the eggs.
Her foot slipped on some loose rocks. Some of the pebbles fell into her boot. She sat down to remove it and shake out the debris, but as soon as her backside touched the ground, she sprang up again.
Kale frowned and bent to sit down.