Chapter 107: Going Fishing
After a night spent tangled with a cold and trembling Nyrielle, Ashlynn woke to an empty bed and a disorienting lack of awareness of time. The room, located deep in the castle in a place without windows, had become so perfectly dark that it was impossible to say whether it was early morning or if she’d slept until midday.
A knock sounded at the door, quick and sharp in a pattern that Ashlynn had come to associate with Heila.
"My Lady," the diminutive servant’s voice called. "May I enter?"
"One moment," Ashlynn said. She briefly conjured a mote of light, just enough to locate the lamp on the bedside table and light it before banishing her sorcery. The night spent under warm furs had helped to replenish her energy after the previous evening but with her plans for the day, she had no intention of wasting energy on light when a practical, if mundane, solution was available.
Once she’d pulled a dressing gown on, she padded across the cold stone floor and let Heila into the room that she and Nyrielle had occupied for the night. A small oil lamp burned on the tray Heila carried, illuminating a simple breakfast of fresh baked bread smothered in creamy cheese and topped with smoked fish.
"Bless you, Heila," Ashlynn said, sitting on the bed and devouring her breakfast. While it might not meet Georg’s standards, she was certain that Heila or one of the other servants traveling with them had been responsible for baking the loaf as the Frost Walkers had little interest in anything that wasn’t meat.
The feast last night had been sumptuous and Ashlynn had indulged in the many different ways they prepared fish, but by the end of the meal, she deeply missed Georg’s balanced dishes.
"How late did I sleep?" Ashlynn asked around a mouthful of the firm, almost nutty bread. "It should still be fairly early, shouldn’t it?"
"The sun is only a handbreadth above the mountains," Heila said, bustling around the room and setting out an outfit for Ashlynn to wear today. With plans to spend the day fishing on the ice, she opted for the practical breeches and tunic that Ashlynn would typically wear when training with Thane, along with a heavy quilted coat and a fur cloak to wear over that along with practical, soft leather boots that came up over the knee.