Chapter 8: Revera
For the first time in months, I awoke comfortably tucked in a bed. The simple, cotton sheets were soft and white, caressing my skin whenever I shifted. Yawning, I reached up to rub my eyes, but froze as the metallic clink of a chain drove all drowsiness from my mind. Feeling around my neck, I found an ornate leather collar, connected to a slender chain fastened to the bed. I lifted the chain and stared at it for a second. Didn't the hero free me? Feeling more than a little confused, I let the chain slip through my fingers and looked around the room.
From all appearances, my accommodations were some sort of guest chamber. The walls and ceiling were stark white, with a repeated sun pattern painted around the edges. A table and chair, made of darkly stained wood, provided the only other furniture. On one wall, a large window allowed a little sunlight to trickle through the drawn curtains. Everything felt clean and pure. Too clean.
I jumped as the door cracked open and an elderly woman poked her head in. She frowned softly as she met my wide-eyed gaze and swung the door shut. I heard a few metallic clicks before the door opened again, this time swinging into the room wide enough to allow a woman to enter. She was dressed in white robes similar to the Father from before, save hers were much plainer in cloth and cut. A wooden pendant carved with the image of a sun hung about her neck, weighing down her shoulders. Her skin was aged and wrinkled and her short gray hair was bound tightly in a bun. When she spoke, her voice was gentle, though not particularly kind.
"Awake, are we?" She asked, coming to my bedside.
I nodded, staring at her with wide eyes. "W-where am I?"
She snorted and smoothed a strand of gray hair behind her ear. "The fool brought you to the Radiant Throne, of all places. This is one of the guest rooms in the right wing. I'm a priestess here. You may call me Revera."
"I...I see. And this?" I asked, fingering the band of rough leather around my neck.
She stared at me, as though wondering how I could possibly ask something so stupid. When she finally deigned to answer, her voice dripped with vitriol. "The binding ceremony hasn't been completed yet, so naturally a slave can't be allowed to run around free."
I shrunk back before her condescending gaze, an uneasy tingle running down my tail. "S-so I'm still a slave?"