Scales & Shadows Ch21: Sisters' Vow

I assumed six hours of sleep per night to be a lot. In a life where several days could be spent doing little to nothing, it would have been.

I quickly found that it wasn’t enough. Phaeliisthia’s teaching schedule was nonstop, even for this first week. Glyphs in the morning, history in the evening, and etiquette at every mealtime—we never truly stopped. For Ssiina and Kyrae, they also had sigil training while I had to practice even more glyphs. Not only did we have to fit all that into our day, but between lessons and meals, our tutor put us through intensive stretches and sent us on journeys around and through the fantastical garden.

Around every corner of Phaeliisthia’s sprawling estate, there seemed to be some nook or another, isolated and tranquil if not for the three of us tramping and slithering about. I longed to spend time in the lush garden, ideally with my sisters. Because of me, the garden journeys turned into races, to the dismay of the others and Phaeliisthia’s smug satisfaction.

Over the week, Phaeliisthia had become more… approachable. Nothing about her demeanor had really changed, but I felt like I could actually ask her questions now. I’d approached her about glyphs I was struggling with at the end of the day’s schedule once and she’d actually taken me aside to help. Sure, she complained and groused about losing valuable personal time, but she’d kept a sort of hidden smile on her face all the while.

Rather quickly, Phaeliisthia’s estate was starting to feel like a place I could call home, if only for a while. Exhaustion started to set in fast, though, and the first day off couldn’t approach quickly enough. Lamia tended to sleep long hours at one time, but less often than elves or whatever Phaeliisthia was. I’d underestimated this regular schedule. On top of that, Zinniz or another servant was always watching so long as we were outside our rooms, paying particular attention to the hallway connecting our doors.

That meant we would get seen trying to sneak into each other’s rooms. And after the first day, I didn’t dare use my shadow powers to move to Kyrae or Ssiina’s room, even though they practically itched to be used—like a bad shed.

After a long, grueling day before our day off at the end of the first week, I slithered up to my room with the others in tow. I felt both a bone-deep exhaustion and a warm satisfaction. We’d surely get in trouble for all trying to sleep in a pile, but I didn’t think any of us cared. Even Ssiina, for all her blustering talk of “knowing everything” already, had begrudgingly admitted that, outside of basic glyphs, a lot of what we covered was at least from a different perspective.

In six days, I had learned more glyphs than the entire rest of my life. I could even write some of them! Knowing “Hesuzhaa Jii’ssiisseniir” and being able to write it out was my goal for now, and it felt close. Moreover, while we’d only thus far skimmed the prehistory and early history of the empire, we would soon arrive at the relevant history of my new-old family.

The only thing I actually disliked had been the etiquette lessons. Disliked? No, hated would be accurate. Frankly, I didn’t see the point in all of it. Worse still, Phaeliisthia agreed!

And when I asked why we were learning them then, she shrugged and didn’t tell me! She also hadn’t told us what she was! Said it’d be a fun surprise, or that there’d be a reward for guessing. Hsssss!

***

I awoke not alone, but in a tangle of limbs and tails. Warm.Halfway into untangling myself to a bevy of groans and complaints, I realized something critically important: today was our day free of schedules.

Immediately, I curled back up and drifted off again. Kyrae feels… softer than I remember. By the time my sisters dragged me out of the room, through a wonderful morning meal, I was too sleepy to appreciate fully, and into the warm sun, it was already midday.

I yawned and stretched.

Ssiina giggled. “There’s something in your teeth, Sister.”

“Yeah, I can believe that.” I closed my mouth with a snap. “How’d I do at breakfast?”

“Do you not remember?” Kyrae stretched skyward. “You ate three plates!”

I barely held in another yawn at my sister’s display, but I did stretch myself out along the warm paving stones. “No, I meant, like, etiquette ‘n stuff.”

“Abysmal,” Ssiina answered slyly. “With how little you chewed your food, I’m surprised enough of something touched your teeth long enough to get stuck there.”

“Hey! I was half-asleep.”

“Yes, I understand.” My hssen-raised sister smiled. “You have been getting better.”

“It’s only been a week, too, Issa,” Kyrae added.

I pouted. “Yeah, but Phaeliisthia always glares at me during mealtimes.”

Ssiina grew a smile across her whole face. “I don’t get why she does that either. I like my appetite, so I tend to look away.”

“Go shed a scale, Ssiina,” I jabbed halfheartedly. “Can I go back to sleep?”

“And waste the whole day!?” Kyrae interjected, dancing between a pouting Ssiina and myself.

“S’not a waste if I need the sleep.”

“If you sleep in this late now, it’ll be harder than usual to get up tomorrow.”

I waved a hand. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

Kyrae caught my hand on the way back up. “Nuh uh! All three of us are gonna go exploring today! I want to find a secret place in the garden. Somewhere special, that even Phaeliisthia might not go often.”

“What about a place she doesn’t know about at all?” Ssiina’s intrigued tone betrayed me again. “Phaeliisthia’s garden seems like it covers the whole island—it might even be bigger than the Emerald Palace’s main garden! Surely she cannot know every tree and bush.”

“Come on, Issa!” Kyrae pleaded, shaking my entire arm up and down. “I know you want to.”

“Hssstired though,” I muttered. Kyrae’s idea does sound fun though.

“That’s not a no!”

“Surely this will be fun, Sister!”

I rubbed my eyes and yawned again. “…Okay, let’s go.”

I started slithering in a direction, and Kyrae pulled me in another. The motion helped wake me up, and by the time we crossed the plaza, I was moving wholly on my own.

“Why do you think they let us sleep together last night?” I asked.

“Perhaps they weren’t checking?” Ssiina offered.

Kyrae shook her head. “No way they weren’t. Maybe we’re okay to share a room if we don’t need to be up in the morning for lessons?”

I truly expected Phaeliisthia to answer, suddenly appearing from behind a tree or column. Instead, birdsong and a rustling of leaves in the wind filled the silence.

“That’s probably it,” I answered after we’d entered the tree line, guilty for causing the silence. “So what kind of place are we looking for? I want someplace bright!”

“I would like somewhere with moving water—I’ve always found the sound calming, and there’s much to be said about water in the air and shining scales. What about practicing with your shadows, though, Issa?”

I swallowed suddenly. “Well, uh, I do want to do that. But later.”

Ssiina gave me a sidelong glance but didn’t pry. “What about you, Sister Kyrae?”

Kyrae held a hand to her chin, feeling the smoothness there, although a hint of stubble persisted. Herbs were limited in what they could do, my newbloom sister had said—and it was too early for magic—but apparently Zinniz was very skilled with a razor. She took a while to answer as we drifted to the edges of the path, toward rushing water and thicker plants.

“I’d like someplace cozy. A nice, comfortable spot out of rain or wind. Dry, bright, and… cozy.” She repeated the last word.

I squeezed her hand. “Someplace nice to coil up in!”

Kyrae nodded. “Or join someone who’s coiled up. Or maybe just curl up in. Sit down and watch the water or the wind in the trees or the birds or something.”

“That sounds lovely!” Ssiina clapped. “Under the roots of a tree, perhaps?”

I shuddered involuntarily, the fresh memory of a week ago coming back. “I… maybe. It needs to be bright.”

“And dry,” Kyrae added.

“So roots are a maybe then? Perhaps we look for water first, as that is the most limiting condition, provided we don’t venture off the island.”

“Off the island, huh.” I thought about the endless water of the mangroves outside the city. “Do you think Phaeliisthia has a wall around the estate? Maybe a magic wall?”

Ssiina furrowed her brow. “We didn’t see anything like that coming in.”

“We were invited in.” Kyrae’s eyes went wide. “Do you want to try to find the edge?”

I looked around again for Phaeliisthia. Adventure called. “Let’s do it!” I threw a fist into the air.

Ssiina copied the gesture awkwardly. “I am also in!”

I shook my head. “Just say ‘I’m in.’ If you say it all formal-like, you’ll give yourself away.”

My hssen-raised sister made a face. “I’m in. Hmmm. It’s not so awkward.”

“You’re the one that’s awkward, sister,” Kyrae said smugly.

“Absolutely not!” Ssiina huffed, but there was a brightness in her eyes.

I couldn’t help but laugh, and the others followed suit.

We continued on along the path until we heard moving water—away from the entrance river. Sharing a glance, we left the neatly-made route and headed into the wild, tangled depths of Phaeliisthia’s garden.

The moment we stepped into the jungle, the undergrowth seemed to close around us. Dense, vibrant leaves skated along my scales. Wet from the recent rain, others slapped against my arms and head as I pushed through, making a path for the others.

Lowering my body, I was able to get under a particularly thick bush, although Ssiina complained behind me. Coming up the other side, I forced my head through a literal wall of tiny white blossoms, their thin vines sliding above or below my body.

Once through, I gasped. Ahead was a vale full of small white flowers. The groundcover that bore them spread and wound its way around and up the trunks of nearby trees as well, creating an entire unbroken room of soft white petals.

Ssiina bumped onto the back of me, and yanked my tail.

I hissed. “Hey!”

Ssiina hissed right back. “My face is in a bush—move it!”

Grumbling, I slid into the vale, the sensation of flowers on my under-scales almost ticklish. Behind me, I heard Ssiina gasp. Kyrae pulled herself in after our other sister, hair full of leaves, and fell silent.

“It’s beautiful,” my newbloom sister whispered.

“It is,” I agreed. “But there’s no place to coil that isn’t on flowers.”

Ssiina hummed. “I was not going to say anything, but it isn’t next to water, either. And it’s close to the path.”

Kyrae looked up at the small blue hole of open sky above. “There’s no real place out of rain, either. Let’s keep looking!”

“Yeah!” I nodded excitedly, one loose fang poking down from my smile.

Ssiina giggled at the sight, and I poked the offending tooth, getting it to retract back up. In response to being poked, muscles I never used twitched, and a small, shining droplet escaped the tip of my fang.

I stared down at it, pearlescent on the tip of my finger.

“Everything alright, Issa?” Kyrae inclined her head and walked over to me, carefully putting her feet only where I’d already smashed all the flowers down.

“Venom,” I responded. “I think I might be making venom now.”

“You weren’t already?” Ssiina asked. “You’re plenty old enough.”

I nodded absentmindedly. “Well, yeah, I guess. But I never had enough…”

“Food,” Kyrae finished.

Ssiina’s face burned and she looked away. “Never again, Sister.”

I balled my hand into a fist, the droplet of my venom at the center. “Never again, Sister.” I looked up at her and Kyrae with blurry eyes.

Between this and being ra’zhii and my chest and… I’m happy.

“Let’s go find a place to talk more—I’m crushing flowers right now.” I looked away, hiding my smile and the quick poke I gave to my still-sore and swelling chest.

I’m happy.

Without any other words, the trio of us left the flower clearing, gently pushing through into the garden depths in the direction of where we heard water. The jungle on the other side was less dense; a taller canopy filtered the midday brightness into shades of green and red.

The land dipped, creating a small valley for us to follow. The sound of running water echoed around us, and I took the lead again in searching for it. After only a moment of hesitation, I scratched the itch of using my powers. Gently, as I could, I sensed through the shadows. I almost felt like I could see, but the chill sensation reminded me to limit my senses to distant, indistinct vagueness.

Control.

Phaeliisthia hadn’t taught me a single scale of anything about my powers, but I had a good idea how to keep safe. Just don’t let the cold in.

The sound of water was… off when I sensed it through my shadows. Farther away than we thought, and to one side. The sound was echoing up the valley we were at the top of. How big is this island?

“Issa?” Kyrae asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Shhhh,” I whispered, giving myself more time to find the water. “Down and to… that way.” I pointed my arm in the direction I felt, blackness from my own shadow curling icily around the limb. When the cold started to seep into my skin, I cut my power off, struggling for a moment before the shadows pulled away.

Kyrae clutched my other arm, hard.

“Sister?” Ssiina asked.

“I’m fine!” I turned around with a smile.

Kyrae narrowed her green eyes at my own, then sighed in relief. “Not totally black.”

“I know what I’m doing!” I asserted with a smile. “And now I know the water’s that way!”

Ssiina followed my outstretched finger. “That way? But the sound’s coming from down the valley.”

“It’s echoing,” I replied smugly. “And it’s also farther away than we think.”

“How far?” Kyrae asked instantly.

I deflated. “I don’t know. Not too far I hope?”

Kyrae gave me a quick hug. “We wanted to see the end of the island anyway, Sis!”

I hugged her back, and Ssiina joined in for a moment before we broke off and kept walking. Soon, a small stream started in the crook of the valley and we followed it. After what felt like at least as much distance as it took to get to the estate by aazh and tail, the valley flattened out.

The sound of water was now a roar. Through the trees ahead, was a bright spot of daylight, scattering itself along the entire horizon line in patches and gaps.

“An edge to the garden?” Ssiina asked, darting ahead.

“Careful!” Kyrae sprinted after her. “It sounds like a waterfall.”

I passed both of them. “Then I’m gonna be the first to see it!”

Laughing and giggling, we raced through the last of the garden toward the bright edge and roaring water. Ahead, I saw black rocks with water spray arcing above them, droplets catching the light. A large, languid pool had formed right before the falls, and I almost slid in to swim the rest of the way.

Around the pool, the dirt gave way to steep rock that rose up on all sides, covered in flowing, flowering vines. A few gnarled trees and venerable shrubs clung to the edges of the pool, and soft, pale green groundcover coated the thin strip of dirt between rocks and water.

It was across this green strip that I made my final sprint, Ssiina and Kyrae hot on my tail. A single, immense slab of rock jutted out into the sunlight beyond the trees and I aimed myself straight for it. Beyond the falls and the rock next to them, the ground fell away, and as I drew closer, I could see green below.

Once my scales touched rock, I pulled my lower body forward, coiled around, and came to a skidding stop. My sisters slithered and ran up next to me. I expected Ssiina to be panting, but she was all smiles while she fixed her mussed black hair.

She was, however, breathing a little heavily. We all were.

I faced them with a wide smile, loose fang down yet again. Behind them was a picturesque scene: a stream burbling into a placid pool that terminated in a waterfall over rocks. Stone cliffs ringed the glade in on three sides, topped with dense foliage. Trees with thick, gnarled roots clung to the rock faces, and vines flowed like water toward the pool.

Near this jutting rock, a particularly large tree shielded a pool-facing alcove in the rock from my sight, aside from a small natural window in the wood that let me see into the space.

Little of the grove was in bloom aside from the vines, but the trees all had vibrant, emerald-like leaves that contrasted with the white-green of the groundcover and the deep blue-black of the gravel-bottomed pond.

Behind me, however, was the real view. Walking carefully, Kyrae came up beside me and nudged my shoulder around. When I turned, I saw immediately that we had found the edge of the island.

The falls tumbled down about twice the height of the estate, into treetops of the dense, stubby mangroves below. A ribbon of water, some channel of the Hssyri no doubt, twinkled in the afternoon light as it wound lazily by in the distance. A smaller stream from the waterfall persisted off in that direction for a while before being swallowed up by the trees.

As we watched, a flock of brightly colored birds took wing from below, flying up and over to disappear into the garden of riotous color behind us.

Sun, water, and shelter overlooking a gorgeous view.

“This is it,” I whispered reverently.

Kyrae hugged me with one arm. “It is.”

“Indeed,” Ssiina added.

For a while longer, we admired the view.

Until Kyrae tugged my arm away from the edge. “Let’s go back from here—the wind’s picking up.”

Huh? I hadn’t noticed, but the wind was pushing against my torso, blowing in clouds from the direction of the ocean. Ssiina and I weren’t bothered, but Kyrae probably risked being bowled over without a lamia-like lower body to ground her.

After a last, longing look, we retreated back into the grove. Kyrae led us to the alcove. A few feelers of vine tried across the lightly shaded rock, but gave way quickly to cool stone. As soon as I was inside, the wind cut off, whistling faintly through the window-like hole.

Shallow enough not to form deep shadow, the alcove was comfortable and sheltered. There was space for all of us—but not a whole lot to spare. Sire Tyaniis would probably fit comfortably into here by herself.

Once we’d all settled in, Kyrae posed a question: “What do we want to do? Here, sure, but also after. I’m sure the Emerald Palace is wonderful, but will we want to stay there forever?”

Ssiina hummed thoughtfully, and I looked out the window in the roots, over the river and to the cloudy beyond. What do I want to do?

“Control my powers,” I found myself voicing my thoughts aloud. “But, after that? I… I think I want to see the empire, maybe beyond. Even just here in Uzh is different, magical. What other wonders are out there?” I really didn’t think I could stay in one place.

“I want to see the cities of the world,” Ssiina answered. “I want to see how people live and grow. But natural beauty like this is wonderful as well.”

Kyrae nodded. “I… want both, I think. I want to see the people and the land and how different they might be—experience it and get to know it. If I can, I want to start in the elven part of the empire—go see the heritage I’ve never really had.”

I bowed my head and closed my eyes. “I think we should do that. All of us. Get out there and go see the world.”

“I agree, sisters,” Ssiina smiled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Kyrae rolled over to both of us and wrapped her two lamia sisters in a hug. “Thank you. Let’s all go together when we can. For now, let’s grow together and get strong so we can protect each other!”

“Yeah!” I hugged my elf sister back, my tail wrapping with Ssiina’s in a loving embrace.

Ssiina jolted suddenly “We should make a vow!”

““A vow?”” Kyrae and I both looked at our third sister.

Ssiina nodded. “A vow. A promise, but stronger! Like this: I, Ssiina Ssyri’Jiilits, vow to protect my sisters and see the world with them!”

I giggled. “I, Issa Ssyri’Jiilits, vow to protect my sisters—and our sire too—and see the world with my sisters!”

Kyrae’s eyes glittered. Her first attempt at words tumbled into a cough, but she took a deep breath. “I, Kyrae…” she took another deep breath. “I, Kyrae Ssyri’Jiilits, vow to protect my sisters and to see the wonders of all the corners of the world!”

Ssiina pulled us all into an even tighter hug, giggling. “So we vow, so it shall be!”

Our hssen-raised sister’s laughter was infectious, and soon all of us joined in. In this moment, surrounded by family, and natural beauty, I felt truly happy for the first time in…

Well, ever.

I think I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s lessons!