The Eye of Scales by Tracy Hickman

Author:Tracy Hickman [Hickman, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

19

Guests

The afternoon sun streamed in through the large bay window of the little cottage on the hill. Amanda laid aside her embroidery and gazed longingly out at the ships bobbing in the harbor below. She could see the sailors climbing in the riggings and moving about on the decks as the ships were loaded and unloaded during their brief stay in Etceter. She knew that when the tide went out, most of the ships would go, too.

She sighed and picked up her work, but just as quickly laid it aside again.

Amanda had never been on a ship of any kind, not even something small like a rowboat. Syenna had carried her across a few rivers during their escape from the Obsidian lands, but that was as close as she had ever come. The idea of traveling by ship fascinated her, like living in a house that went places.

She had listened with rapt attention as her new friend Sequana described her trip across the Sea of Storms on her way back from dropping Aren Bennis and her sister in Resolute.

The thought of Syenna made Amanda focus on the long dock reserved for the baroness and official Etceter business. How many times had she watched that dock, waiting for her sister to return? How many times had Syenna walked along it in her armor with her gear bag, waiting to leave on another errand for the baroness?

Someday, Amanda told herself, she would be down there, waiting for a ship to come for her. Waiting to do something important.

She sighed again and picked up her work. Who was she kidding? Syenna had her skills, she was a trained warrior and a scout without peer. The baroness and the council would always have tasks for her; important, necessary tasks. Amanda looked at the cloth she’d been embroidering. It was a complex image of a lighthouse rising up from rock with the foamy sea crashing against its base. Golden beams of light radiated out from the top of the lighthouse, and she’d done the whole thing on a light gray fabric so the colors would stand out. She meant it to hang over the top of the baroness’s throne in the council chamber so when the baroness was seated the light rays would form a sort of halo behind her head. The baroness would love it, of course, and display it proudly, but it was hardly important.

She ran her hand along the smooth edge of the wooden hoop that kept the fabric pulled tight.

“We all have our talents,” she said out loud.

Some are just more useful than others.

With a final, longing look at the dock and its bobbing ships bustling with activity, Amanda returned to her needlework. By the time her fingers began to ache and her eyes felt strained, the lamplighters were out in the city below. As some point, Sarah had come in, leaving a tray of grapes and cheese with a bit of dark bread and some wine.

Setting her work aside, Amanda rubbed her eyes until they didn’t feel about to fall out of her head.

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