by R. Lynn
With the guard’s sword, Sollara swung at the beast and caught his jaw. He howled in pain and pulled his head back into the cave. Sollara turned and ran, knowing she only had a few moments to gain an advance. Her best chance of freedom now was flight not fight.
Even though she had seen it before, the beauty of the sky was still so raw for her. It was how she pictured the afterlife to be— so full of endless possibilities and wonders that no one would ever be able to see and do everything. The splendor of it was almost enough to stop her in her tracks. But she knew she had to keep going; she needed to taste freedom before she could truly enjoy beauty.
The blur of blue skies, green trees, and large boulders swirled around her as she ran down the slopes of the mountain. They were now descending what had taken them the last few hours to climb.
She ran behind Lark until the sky started changing colors. The breathtaking beauty of it stopped her. She had read about sunsets but never had imagined them to be so alive. The thought of losing light seemed so depressing— like her life had been in the Deep Kingdom. But this was not at all what she had imagined it to be. She climbed up one of the nearby boulders, scouring the area to see if the guards had followed them. When she couldn't see anyone, she allowed herself to mentally relax, crouching down for extra precaution.
The sky turned from light blue to hues of pink, then exploded in an array of every color imaginable. Sollara thought whatever god was tasked to paint the evening sky was a genius. It was more beautiful than any of the original works of art adorning the walls of the Deep Kingdom.
Her senses were working overtime. Everywhere she looked she was surprised to see something new— new tastes, new sounds, new smells. She wondered how people got anything done when such beauty surrounded them. The darkness overtook the light, and soon the starry sky was glistening before her very eyes. She didn't know which sky was more striking, the one of day or the one of night. As she watched she started to cry, overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Tears came as she lay back and fell under the immensity of the sky.
She laughed as she wondered what someone would think if they saw her sprawled on the top of a boulder crying.
Lark rested next to her on the branch of a tree that hung over a portion of the rock. He twitched his head from side to side as he watched the vast collection of her expressions.
“Isn't it just so beautiful?” she asked.
The Lark didn’t budge at the question but stayed nestled into the nook of a branch and stared down at her.
“I can’t wait to see Asima.”
He perked up his head and tilted it toward her, as if the mention of Asima had upset him. She was going to ask him what happened between them, but a question that had been at the forefront of her mind interrupted her train of thought.
“Do you have a name? Or should I keep calling you Lark?”
In a flash he flew off the branch. She was concerned at first and thought about going after him. Almost as quickly as he left he returned holding small twigs in his beak. With a focused concentration he meticulously set them down and arranged them on the rock. When he was finished with his work, he looked to her and then looked to his masterpiece as if to tell her something. He nudged his head in the direction of his twigs. She moved closer so she could get a better look at what he had made. There before her on the boulder was the word Kai.
“Your name is Kai?”
He chirped and flapped his wings as if to say ‘Finally!’
“What a beautiful name! I’ll try my best to remember to call you that, although it will be hard to train myself not to call you Lark,” she teased. “Where to now? Sleeping on a rock isn’t really a good option for me. I like to toss and turn.”
He motioned with his head to the area behind her. And when she turned, she saw the dim lights of small buildings dotting the hills not too far from where they were.
“This is so exciting! I’ll get to see real people and a real city. Oh, how romantic. I’ve dreamed of going somewhere like this for so long.”
She quickly climbed down the boulder and headed in the direction of the lights. The closer they got, the louder a strange sound became. Sollara glanced around her, worried about what could be causing the noise. They passed through the last of the trees and into an open clearing. There they saw the creators of the mysterious sound.
“Sheep!” she yelled, giddy with excitement as she clumsily climbed a fence to go pet them. Kai fluttered behind. The clanging bells on the collars of the sheep had caused her mystery sound. She was excited for two reasons: one, to have cracked the mystery and two, she wanted so desperately to run her fingers through their woolly coats. She tried frantically to catch one so she could do just that, but they kept running away.
After several failed attempts, Sollara flopped to the ground exhausted, crossed her arms and legs and pouted in foolish frustration. Kai was obnoxiously chirping and hopping on the ground. It sounded to her like a hysterical fit of bird laughter, taunting her failed attempt.
A gentle nudge distracted her from her inner turmoil, and she looked down to see a little ewe nuzzle into the nook of her arm. She shot an “I told you so” look at Kai before turning back to the baby ewe. Her fingers made their way to its head and rubbed down the neck of the lamb. Its coat was surprisingly coarse. With a sense of peace and great contentment, Sollara played with the lamb until Kai once again started flying into her back, pressing them to keep moving. She reluctantly said goodbye and followed after him.
It wasn’t long before they came to a large wooden sign that had the painted word, Atxondo.
Atxondo was picturesque. From what she could see in the twilight, it had rolling, tree-covered hills, and every now and then there would be a quaint little home or farm outbuilding. Sheep were scattered across the fields, and other than the sound of their bells, it was quiet. Almost every building they passed was adorned with beautiful scalloped woodwork and paintings of flowers.
They soon came upon a large stone building by the side of the road. The surface of the old building was covered in warm, earth-toned stones that had been washed smooth by time. A large, arched double door was centered perfectly at the building’s front. The brown wooden windows were accented with dark brown painted shutters and a clay-tiled roof. To Sollara it was perfect, what she had always imagined a home should look like.
The large sign on the front said, “Goikoa Inn.”
“Please Lark. Err, uh, Kai, please can we stay here?” He answered her by flying towards the door. She was so happy that she skipped after him.
-15-
Kai waited outside while Sollara ventured into the Inn. The excitement over staying in such a quaint place took away any fear she had about her first human interaction since leaving the Deep Kingdom. On top of that, the inside was even better than the charming exterior. It had been renovated, but they had left some of the original country details like raised ceilings and exposed wooden beams.
She looked up in awe at the large lanterns hanging from the ceiling. She wondered why they had candle flames that did not flicker.
“Can I help you?” asked a tall, handsome gentleman, his dark curly hair and rich brown eyes distracting her from looking around at all the new sights. He was speaking a strange dialect of Spanish. Sollara thanked the Fates that she had excelled in her studies of languages.
“Yes please, I would like a room for the evening,” she replied. Her Spanish was rusty and her accent horrible, but he understood.
“You're not from around here are you?” he questioned, replying to her in English and his eyes never leaving her face.
“What gives you that idea? Was it my bad accent or my dazed and confused expression?” she laughed, wondering if her sense of humor would translate through the language barrier.
He chuckled and went behind the desk. Smiling at her before grabbing a key off a wall and leaving to prepare her a room. As he left, he shouted something she did not understand, and an older gentleman sauntered out of the back ro
om and up to the desk.
“It will be thirty Euros for the night, miss,” the older man said. He was obviously drunk as his words were slurred together. It reminded her of Sugoi and how he got after a few too many drinks; she did not miss that man. The older gentleman eyed her expectantly. Had he asked for something? She couldn’t quite remember and felt silly for letting her imagination distract her.
Replaying his words she realized why he waited and had a brief anxiety attack. It frustrated her that she hadn’t even thought of money. She had read somewhere that the Surface countries use currency to get things, and she didn’t have any. Then she remembered the Spanish coins that were in the pile she had pulled off the library table.
Opening her bag, she reached into the bottom and retrieved a handful of the treasures. His eyes went wide when he saw her searching through the gold and silver coins in her hand. When she had found the two 1350 Pedro silver Spanish reales that she was looking for, she tossed the others back into the bag.
“Sir, I do not have any Euros on me at the moment, but would you takes these coins in their place?” Struggling through her Spanish she slid her hand up to the counter and plopped down the two coins.
He grabbed the coins, flipping them over in his hands and examining them. Bringing one to his mouth, he bit the sides of it and looked at her curiously. “This is not enough. But I will be nice and take these as well as a few others you have,” he slurred. Sollara was about to get him more coins when the handsome gentleman returned. He took the two silver reales out of the other man’s hand, meriting him a glare, looked them over, and then turned to her.
“Where did you get these?” he asked.
“Oh… my mother has many of them; she gave me a few for my holidays,” she stuttered through her lie.
“She just gave them to you?” His mouth dropped and his eyes were fixated on the coins.
“I'm sorry I don't have any Euros, and I really need a place to stay. I can give you something else. Please I....”
“No, you misunderstand me; you cannot give us these coins. These are invaluable. They should be in a museum. They are worth a small fortune.”
The older man glared at him and stomped to the back room.
“I don't understand,” she mumbled.
“I’m sorry about that. It seems my uncle finds it appropriate to steal from young women in order to gain his early retirement,” he joked, as he handed her back the reales.
“But, if you will not accept them, then how will I pay you?” Sollara asked.
He could see the fear on her face and smiled. She was beautiful, unlike any girl he had ever seen, but her fashion was dated. She wore a dress that looked like it had been made in the fifties. But for some reason, on her the dress was very attractive.
“Nonsense, you can stay the night for free, and I would be honored to have you join me for dinner. I will have to tell you what to do with these coins before you go around town making everyone rich with your unknowing generosity.” He hoped his words would buy him more time with the beautiful creature that had entered his inn.
They both laughed, the stranger out of finding her delightfully entertaining and Sollara out of relief. She followed him up to the room. When she opened the door, she stumbled and took a step back.
He reached around her and flipped something on the wall that made the room light up.
“What did you do?” she asked in awe as she stared at the lantern on the ceiling and the one next to the bed.
“I turned the lights on,” he said quizzically, studying her face.
Her cheeks blushed as she realized that this might be normal on the Surface, yet she had never seen anything like it. Hesitantly, she let her curiosity take over and explained what was on her mind. “Where I am from we do not have such things; we have lanterns with fire that light up our rooms.”
“Ah, well here we use electricity. You must be from a small town,” he said as he tried to piece together understanding. She seemed to walk out of the past and into his world. “Let me show you,” he said as he walked over to a lamp and unscrewed a light bulb, causing the room to darken. She stared wide-eyed at the magical light source in his hand. “This is a light bulb, and with electricity it makes light,” he explained as he screwed it back in, and once again the room lit up.
She smiled and went over to the switch, turning it up and down, making the lights flicker on and off. “So this makes the electricity go to the bulb?” she asked.
“Yes,” he smiled at her childlike pleasure for something so simple as a light switch. “Do you like your room?” he asked changing the subject.
“It’s… it's just… like out of a dream. I’ve never seen a room that suits me better,” she admitted.
-16-
“Well good, I’m glad you like it. The washroom is across the hall, and there are washcloths next to the tub for you. After you freshen up, please come downstairs and join me for some dinner.” He smiled at her one last time before he turned to leave.
The room looked like it had come straight out of a Shakespearean novel. A double bed, ornate with a brass head and footboard, was pushed against the back wall. It had white crocheted linens covering the mattress, and moss green pillows served as accents. The walls were painted with ivy vines. In the window sat a little flowerpot holding purple and red tulips. She walked over to the window and opened it for Kai.
He promptly flew to the bed and nestled on one of the pillows. “I’m going downstairs for some food; do you want me to bring you something?” she asked. He didn't make any effort to respond, so she figured she would sneak a piece of bread up for him.
When she was confident he would be all right on his own, she proceeded across the corridor to the washroom. Her body felt sticky and dirty, and she wanted to get cleaned up for dinner. As she splashed cold water across her face, she was surprised at how muddy the rinse water was. She was dirtier than she had thought. It wouldn’t do for her very first dinner date, so she quickly ran a bath.
In the Deep Kingdom, they didn't have all the amenities as the Surface world, such as electricity, but they did have plumbing. It had taken years for Mari and Sugoi to have workers drill wells and plumbers direct water to all the necessary places. At the end of their hard work, Mari and Sugoi had them all put to death. She shuddered at the thought; she did not miss it there.
The warm water felt heavenly on her tired skin, and she didn’t want the enjoyment to end. But the notion of the handsome gentleman waiting to have dinner with her pushed her to hurry. She towel dried her hair and twisted it up into a bun, put on a red silk dress and white leather shoes, and headed downstairs.
When she reached the bottom stair, she noticed the handsome gentleman sitting in the corner playing the piano. And, as soon as he saw Sollara, he rose and started towards her.
“Your playing was beautiful; you didn’t need to stop,” she said in broken Spanish.
He blushed and took her hand, spinning her around, while his eyes glanced over her body. “Speaking of beautiful,” he teased.
It was her turn to blush.
With a gentle touch on her back he escorted Sollara to a window seat. She took her place and watched the moonlight reflect off the sheep in a field beyond the window. She loved the moon; it felt so maternal, like it was always providing the right amount of comfort when times were the darkest.
“Your eyes are distant, what are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I was just thinking how beautiful the moon is.” She continued, “I’m fascinated with the sky. In fact I am named after the sun.” She realized they had not formally met so she extended her hand to him. “I am Sollara.”
A smile spread across his face as he took her hand. “It’s nice to meet you Sollara, I’m Elian.”
“It is nice to meet you, too, Elian.” She once again blushed and lowered her face.
He was the first man she had talked to since being in the Deep Kingdom and she did not know how to properly act. She fel
t foolish and diverted her eyes at his every word or touch.
The waiter came to the table with a bottle of red wine. She hadn’t noticed until he went to put the bottle down that Elian had been holding her hand during their entire conversation. If at all possible, her cheeks turned a darker shade of red as she pulled her hand from his grasp.
He had already ordered, and shortly after the wine had been poured, their first course arrived. Elian introduced it as esparrago blancos en aceite y vinagre. It was delicious. She tried to eat like a lady but was hungrier than she had thought. He smiled while watching her eat and signaled the server to bring the next course.
Estofados de res. It looked like a stew. The meat was tender and salty and unfamiliar. They spent the evening talking, drinking, and eating. Elian told her how his father had left half of the inn to him and the other half to his drunken uncle, whom she had met earlier. He said his goal was to buy his uncle’s shares so that he could have control of the business, as they always argued over what to do. Sollara agreed that that would be difficult and wished him the best.
When she was finished, Elian extended his hand and asked her to dance with him. Gracefully she pushed back her chair and stood, taking his hand. Her cheeks blushed when she realized that there were other people in the room. It excited her to see others, to watch how they interacted with each other. But right now, she was with Elian and had to focus on him. He signaled the piano player to play a soft melody and took her out on the veranda that over-looked the courtyard.
The cool breeze helped to calm Sollara’s nerves as he spun her around and then pulled her tight against his body. They circled under the moonlight; every spin heightened the sense that their bodies were dangerously close.
Her instincts were telling her to end the dance, but her emotions were telling her to indulge. She had never kissed a man let alone spent the night with one. And feeling Elian’s warm breaths across the nape of her neck made her very aware of how naive she was to the ways of men on the Surface. His hands were on the small of her back, and he ran his finger in little circles. Suddenly he pressed his lips to the soft flesh of her neck and she let out a low moan. Her mind flashed to the memory of the stranger with the blue eyes, and before she knew what she was doing, she pulled away from Elian and ran toward the stairs.