Herald of Shalia 5

by Tamryn Tamer

Lysandra wondered if maybe she should try getting Brynn to sit with Olivia in a group session since it might help both of the women open up a little.

  “Olivia,” Lysandra smiled as she walked toward the two women. “You’ve been here for a while now and I was really hoping we’d have a chance to sit down and get to know each other. I don’t know if Brynn has told you but I like to meet with all of the new residents and discuss how they’re feeling.”

  “Hildy?” Olivia quickly grabbed Brynn’s elbow.

  “You do?” Ka interrupted. The white pale harpy jumped in front of Lysandra and shoved her face into hers, startling her. Lysandra took several steps back and Ka followed her, glaring at Lysandra with her large golden eyes. “Why haven’t you invited me to talk? None of the harpies have been invited to talk. Why haven’t we been talking? We are new residents, yes?”

  “You’re absolutely right Ka,” Brynn said with a satisfied grin. “You are a new resident and should be allowed a private meeting! Are you refusing to meet with Ka because she’s a harpy?”

  Lysandra glared at Brynn and decided that she was going to make Brynn complete that half-session she still owed her.

  “Sister Lysandra!” Ka said while maintaining intense eye contact with Lysandra. “That would be very wrong, yes! Herald Frost has assured me that my followers would be treated fairly, yes! We’ve been doing our patrols just as he asked and were promised beautiful clothing and nice homes, yes! But I am going to be very upset if I am not given the same respect as my sister, yes!”

  “Sister?” Olivia gave Brynn a confused look.

  “Ka seems to think all of Frost’s wives are sisters,” Brynn answered. “I think it’s kind of adorable.”

  “Is that like how the Arachne children keep referring to me as Queen Olivia?” Olivia asked.

  “Exactly,” Brynn answered. “Harpies gather and share a lot of information and it seems that the Arachne definition of marriage was the one that made the most sense to them so that’s the one that stuck. Arachne think we’re all queens and all of their queens are sisters, so the harpies think we’re all sisters.”

  “It makes sense I suppose,” Olivia covered her mouth as she let out a soft giggle.

  Lysandra had seen Olivia smile plenty of times but it always seemed forced, like she was smiling because she was expected to smile. But when she was with Brynn, those forced smiles were replaced with pleasant laughter. She suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy and wondered why that was as she stared at the two women.

  She wasn’t jealous of Brynn, that was for certain. Sure, Brynn was able to interact with Olivia in a way that Lysandra couldn’t but that was only natural since they seemed to be close friends.

  Lysandra blushed as she suddenly realized why she was feeling jealous and maybe even why she was so curious about Olivia’s behavior. She wanted to understand why Brynn was such close friends with Olivia but she didn’t trust Lysandra enough to even talk to her during sessions.

  All she wanted was for Brynn to let her in and the petite bard put up a monumental wall to keep her out. But Olivia seemed to have an extremely close relationship with her and Lysandra couldn’t help but wonder how it developed.

  “You know Olivia, I’m sure Ka would be happy to spend some time with you,” Brynn suggested. “You’ve always liked birds and harpies are sort of bird adjacent.”

  “Harpies are not like birds!” Ka said defensively. “Harpies are refined and intelligent, yes!”

  “Hildy didn’t mean it as an insult,” Olivia said sweetly. “She just meant that you’re beautiful like a bird.”

  “I see,” Ka said while glaring suspiciously at Olivia. “But you understand I am not a bird, yes?”

  “I do,” Olivia said sweetly. “You are really a very lovely harpy lady Ka.”

  “Sister Ka,” Ka insisted while slowly moving closer to Olivia and Brynn.

  “Sister Ka,” Olivia nodded. “Hildy has been trying to slowly introduce me to demihumans over the last few days and I was really looking forward to meeting you. I heard that you’ve become very close friends with Renna. I met her as well.”

  “Yes,” Ka said happily. “Renna is a very good girl, yes. Very sweet and polite and she brings me lots of gifts, yes.”

  “Right,” Olivia chuckled. “She said you like pretty things, is that right?”

  Lysandra winced as she realized that even Renna had a better relationship with Olivia and Brynn than she did.

  “I enjoy shiny things and colorful things and shimmery things and bright things, yes,” Ka answered.

  “Would you like me to show you something very pretty?” Olivia asked while crouching down so she was the same height as Ka. “Renna told me that you’re very sensitive to being tricked but what I want to show you is a bit of a trick. But, it’s a very pretty trick. Is that okay?”

  “Hmm,” Ka leaned in close to Olivia’s face and stared into her eyes. “That is okay, yes.”

  “This is just a normal rock,” Olivia said as she pulled a small pebble from her purse and held it up for Ka to look at. The harpy inspected it closely and nodded several times. “I am going to make this rock look like a very pretty gemstone, but it’s still just a rock. It’s a trick.”

  “A trick, yes,” Ka nodded as she stared at the rock.

  Olivia waved her hand over the rock and it suddenly transformed into a large kaleidoscopic gemstone. A dozen different colors flowed through the gem as it gradually changed forms, folding itself into dozens of different shapes. Ka’s eyes fixated on the beautiful gemstone as she followed the colors and shapes until finally it returned to its original form.

  “That was a very tricky rock, yes,” Ka said as she gently poked the rock with her wing. “A sneaky, shifty, tricky rock, yes. You must be very careful around such a devious rock, yes.”

  “The rock isn’t the trick,” Olivia smiled and held up her hand. Ka watched as Olivia’s fingernails transitioned between different colors and settled back on their original hue. “I can do it with lots of things. I use magic to make things pretty. It’s fun and harmless. But some might say it’s tricky.”

  “I like it very much,” Ka said happily. “You are a very tricky sister, yes.”

  “Thank you, sister Ka,” Olivia said.

  Lysandra couldn’t help but feel a little left out as she watched Olivia entertain Ka. They were all supposed to be wives of Herald Frost yet she was the one being left on her own. She started to wonder if she did something wrong.

  “I’m really impressed with how well you’re getting along with everybody,” Lysandra said as she glanced at the Arachne children playing on the far end of the field with their floating ball.

  “What do you mean?” Olivia asked.

  “I just mean that a lot of humans dislike being around demihumans,” Lysandra said. “Arachne especially. Even Lady Brynn struggles with the Arachne because of the skittering.”

  “It’s not their fault that Brynn is afraid of spiders,” Olivia said quietly. “It’s that woman’s fault.”

  “What woman?” Lysandra asked while glancing at Brynn.

  “It’s nobody’s fault,” Brynn interrupted. “All that matters is that I work on getting over it and that’s the end of it, understood?”

  “Yes Hildy,” Olivia nodded politely. “Anyway, maybe it’s about time I head inside. I’ve met a lot of people and…”

  “Watch out!” a handmaiden shouted.

  Lysandra turned to see a dark ball flying toward Olivia. She lifted her hand to create a barrier but it didn’t seem she was going to make it in time. Lysandra watched as Brynn twisted her body and pushed Olivia out of the way as a glob of mud splattered all over Brynn’s back.

  “Got her!” an older child yelled from one of the nearby rooftops. Lysandra glared at the group of children which sent them running as Brynn pulled out a cloth and began wiping her shoulder.

  “Very naughty child, yes!” Ka shouted angrily. “Very naughty! I saw who you are and you will pay for harming my sister, yes
!”

  “It’s fine,” Brynn said while wiping herself off.

  “H-hildy?” Olivia was on the ground, trembling as she stared up at Brynn. “A-are you okay?”

  “It was just a little mud,” Brynn said reassuringly as she pulled out her cloth. “See?”

  “Hildy,” Olivia pointed at the cloth and began hyperventilating.

  Brynn’s shoulder had a few small scrapes caused from pebbles mixed in the mud. Lysandra realized she was going to have to find out which children were involved and punish them accordingly.

  She suddenly felt a chill down her spine as she stared at Olivia’s face, the raven-haired woman looked like she was holding back tears. She glanced at Brynn and the normally composed princess looked as if she just finished a mountain of paperwork only to have somebody come along and spill a drink all over it.

  “It’s okay Olivia,” Brynn said her name so sweetly and softly she almost didn’t sound like herself. “I’m not hurt. I’m really not hurt at all.”

  “I’m sorry Hildy,” Olivia said while holding back tears. “You got hurt protecting me again…”

  “It’s okay,” Brynn said while stroking Olivia’s hand. “It’s not a big deal. It’s really not. Take a deep breath. There you go. Another deep breath. That’s it.”

  Lysandra watched as Olivia’s face contorted. The woman wrapped her arms around her knees and started breathing erratically while shaking her head. After several quick fast breaths, it seemed like the woman had forgotten how to breathe.

  “Deep breaths,” Brynn said. “You can do it. Not those itty-bitty breaths but one great big breath. Come on. Everything is okay. I feel fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Just breathe.”

  Olivia attempted to take a breath only to find herself unable to. Brynn continued trying to calm her down while rubbing her shoulders.

  “Come on,” Brynn said reassuringly. “There’s no need to pass out from something this silly.”

  “No, no, that’s wrong,” Ka’s said, walking up to Olivia as if she knew exactly what was going on. She lightly jabbed Brynn several times with her wing to move her out of the way as she faced Olivia. “Don’t worry about breathing yet. Just look into my eyes. Look closely. You’re looking, yes?”

  Olivia nodded as she stared into Ka’s eyes.

  “Focus. They are very shiny eyes. Very pretty eyes. They sparkle like coins, yes,” Ka said while staring at Olivia. “As you think about my eyes, you slowly breathe in. But do not stop looking at my very beautiful eyes.” Ka waited as Olivia managed to take half of a single breath. “Yes, like that. You are a very good girl. Now I need you to keep looking into my eyes. They are like polished coins and very calming, yes. All that matters are pretty eyes. Pretty eyes. Pretty eyes. Coins. Shiny coins. Pretty eyes. Now take another breath.” Ka said as Olivia took another slow deep breath and exhaled while maintaining eye contact. “Now repeat after me and do as I do. You have very pretty eyes.”

  “You have very pretty eyes,” Olivia said while taking a deep breath. “You have very pretty eyes.”

  “Very good,” Ka said. “Now say pretty eyes don’t lie.”

  “Pretty eyes don’t lie,” Olivia said between breaths. “Pretty eyes don’t lie. Pretty eyes don’t lie.”

  “Good, now say I am a very good flyer and will not fall,” Ka said sweetly.

  “I am a very good flyer,” Olivia said. “And will not fall.”

  Lysandra watched as Ka slowly spread her wings and began wrapping them around Olivia until the two were encased in the feathers rotating through the various mantras. After about a minute, Ka slowly lowered her wings while wrapping them firmly around Olivia.

  “You did very good, yes,” Ka nodded as she hugged Olivia. “You did very good. You are a very good girl, yes. You’re very brave, yes.”

  “That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen her recover,” Brynn said in shock.

  “Lady Olivia,” several handmaidens came rushing over as things wound down. “Are you alright?”

  “Sister Olivia is fine, yes,” Ka said while rubbing her feathers up and down on Olivia. The golden-eyed harpy nuzzled against Olivia’s neck. “She is just a very nervous flyer, yes.”

  “Nervous flyer?” Olivia asked. “What’s that mean, Lady Ka?”

  “Sister Ka,” the harpy corrected. “Sometimes a harpy becomes afraid of flying. They get dizzy and their hearts start to pound and then they lose consciousness. It is very dangerous. It sometimes happens after something very scary happens to them. They get knocked out of the sky by a griffin or chased by a wyvern or get caught in a very bad storm. When that happens, they are abandoned, yes.”

  “Because they’re broken,” Olivia whispered.

  “No, because some harpies are very stupid, yes,” Ka said while flapping her wings aggressively against Olivia’s head. “The sky can be dangerous and nervous flyers know this better than others. But once a nervous flyer becomes a good flyer again, they become faster than all the other flyers. They fly higher and further than all the other flyers. They become fast and strong so that the danger can never get them again, yes. My handmaiden La used to be a very nervous flyer after she mistakenly flew through a dragon’s territory. Now she is a very brave flyer, but she is also a very naughty and easy woman that must be kept away from our partner, yes. Would you like me to loan her to you?”

  “Loan her to me?” Olivia asked.

  “La will help you not be a nervous flyer,” Ka said. “I have decided, yes. You are very lucky! La is one of my personal handmaidens and I assure you she’s much more suitable than your handmaidens, yes.”

  “Excuse me?” Ginette growled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I will take that one in exchange, yes,” Ka said while pointing at Ginette. “She does not look as easy as La so she won’t be a threat, yes.”

  “Exchange?” Genette snapped. “I will not be exchanged.”

  “Ginette,” Olivia shook her head as she climbed up to her feet. “You may return to your post.”

  The handmaiden started to object but stopped herself and began walking back to the outskirts of the field.

  “Thank you for the offer sister Ka,” Olivia said politely. “But I have Hildy to accompany me, so I’m fine.”

  “Lady Olivia,” Lysandra sighed. “I’m really sorry about what happened. I will definitely be talking to that child’s parents. In the meantime, I would really like to meet with you privately to…”

  “High Priestess,” Olivia said, bowing her head politely. “I must politely decline. I have heard about your private meetings and would prefer not to attend.”

  “Did Brynn happen to tell you…”

  “Hildy has asked me to attend the meetings but I do not want to,” Olivia said. “I’ve had several doctors examine me and I don’t feel like doing that again.”

  “We will have flight lessons, yes,” Ka said sternly. “If you try to decline, I will send my handmaidens to drag you into the sky and drop you in a river, yes! One way or another you will fly, yes!”

  The three women stared at Ka, all equally confused.

  “I can’t fly,” Olivia said.

  “It’s a figure of speech, yes,” Ka said. “But the dropping in the river is not. I will have you dropped in the river if you refuse to meet with me, yes.”

  “Ka,” Lysandra shook her head. “That is not permitted in this village. Also, as the high priestess it’s my job to help.”

  “I am a high priestess as well sister Lysandra,” Ka said proudly. “I’ve found and cared for a great many lost, injured, or abandoned harpies. All of my followers were once nervous flyers. Sister Olivia is a follower of Twi, yes!”

  “I’m a follower of Ziralia,” Olivia said quietly.

  “What has Ziralia done for you?” Ka asked. “You find my wings beautiful, yes? My eyes calm your spirit and drive away the fear, yes?” Ka moved closer to Olivia and stared deeply into her eyes. “Your shiny blue eyes dream of the sky and as a follower of Twi you will
thrive, yes! Yes or no sister, do I have pretty eyes?”

  “Yes,” Olivia answered.

  “Do I have beautiful wings?”

  “Yes,” the raven-haired woman nodded.

  “Did I calm your spirit?”

  “Yes…”

  “Do you wish to fly free of fear?”

  “I don’t know how to answer that…”

  “You wish to fly free of fear, yes?!” Ka repeated aggressively.

  “Y-yes,” Olivia answered nervously.

  “Then you are a follower of Twi, yes!” Ka said proudly while grinning victoriously at Lysandra, as if she just stole a follower from her.

  “Ka! Herald Frost explicitly prohibits followers of specific gods and goddesses from aggressively recruiting followers,” Lysandra said sternly, although secretly impressed with the young High Priestess of Twi. “And if my mother finds out that you’ve been doing it, she’ll start to do it and that can get very dangerous!”

  “Maybe we should just put a pin in this,” Brynn said while placing her hand on the slender harpy’s shoulder. “Olivia’s still trying to get used to the village.”

  “Yes,” Olivia said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I will give you an answer after I get used to the village, is that okay?”

  “I do not need an answer,” Ka said proudly. “I know that in your heart you’ve already made the correct decision, yes.”

  “You are certainly confident,” Brynn said.

  “Yes,” Ka said cheerfully. “Now, I also wish to be shown around the village and meet people, yes. I have heard about many different people and wish to meet them. I am especially curious about the silver-haired man that uses vile words. La says he is very pleasant to look at but very unpleasant to listen to. I also wish to see where the pretty clothing is made and I wish to share fruit and pastries in the place known as the market, yes.”

  “I’m sure Lysandra can show you all those places,” Brynn said.

  “Come along,” Ka said authoritatively as she walked behind Brynn and Olivia. The energetic harpy began poking them both with her wings. “My followers have also told me of a wonderful juice that makes them fly funny, yes!”

  “You know what Ka,” Lysandra smiled as she stared at Brynn and Olivia. “I think that’s a wonderful idea! Maybe this is just what we need! You know what, maybe we should grab Lishi and Desdemona as well.”