Awkwardly, she began wrapping the arm cursing under her breath as the strips came loose. It was at an odd angle to do one-handed. She looked up as smaller hands took the strips from her and watched as the child quickly wrapped the makeshift bandage tight around her arm.
“Thank you,” Jala said quietly and brushed a lock of hair from her face. “You have very pretty hazel eyes,” she added and lifted the lock of hair to examine the tangles. Emily was watching her with obvious remorse and her gaze kept flickering to the bandage. “It’s OK really. I know you didn’t mean to and like I said it was my fault.”
“I’m supposed to protect you not hurt you,” Emily replied quietly.
“And I’m sure you will as long as I’m not dunking you under water,” Jala reassured her and ruffled the tangled hair as best she could. Cocking her head to one side she took in the child’s measurements and pulled on the magic once more to create clothing that would fit her. With a wink she handed the heavy linen trousers and tunic to her as well as small clothes fit for a child. “There. Those should be nice and durable and they are a dark enough color that if you get them dirty I won’t notice for a while,”
Emily took them hesitantly and looked them over then watched as Jala crossed the room to her own closet. “Are you going to tell him I’m here?” she asked cautiously.
“Who?” Jala asked, unsure if the child meant Sovann or Finn since they were about to go and see Sovann.
“The ass …” Emily paused and cleared her throat. “Err, Finn,” she said and began tugging the clothes on quickly.
“Yes, I am. I don’t keep secrets from him,” Jala replied, selecting a long-sleeved deep green dress from her wardrobe. “He won’t be upset, especially when I tell him you are going to help guard me,” Jala assured her and quickly began getting dressed.
“What if he wants me to leave?” Emily asked, her expression concerned.
“He won’t ask you to leave, I promise,” Jala reassured her and selected a pair of sandals from her wardrobe. Sitting lightly on the edge of the bed she lifted her skirts lightly and slipped her feet into the shoes.
Emily watched her silently as she laced up her sandals. With a small hand she pointed at the shoes with obvious concern. “Do I have to wear those?” she asked, a frown growing on her face.
Jala looked up from the lacings and raised an eyebrow. “I did forget to make you shoes didn’t I? No you don’t have to wear shoes like this. I don’t think they would last long if you did.” With a sigh she finished tying the strap and stood again. “You aren’t used to wearing shoes are you?” she asked.
Emily shook her head slightly and continued to stare at Jala. “I see why he likes you so much,” she said quietly.
“Finn?” Jala asked, her confusion growing from the rapidly changing topics. She glanced at Emily as she quickly pulled her hair up. She was running out of time. Sovann would be wondering what was wrong by now.
“Shade,” Emily corrected. “You are so pretty, it’s no wonder he likes you,” she added softly and seemed a bit embarrassed.
Pausing in what she was doing Jala shook her head faintly. “Shade doesn’t look at what is on the outside. Shade likes people that are pretty on the inside. I doubt he ever cared if my hair was fixed properly or noticed what dress I wore,” she explained quietly and then shrugged. “But there are those that care now, so I do,” she said with a sigh, remembering when she was a less filthy version of Emily, when she never would have considered wearing shoes that laced half way up her leg or dresses that had so many layers to their skirts. “Come on, Sovann will be waiting for us and I don’t want him to think something has happened to me. We will worry about shoes later. At least for now you are dressed.” Heading for the door, she grabbed her book bag as she went. She truly doubted she would have time to come back here before her classes started for the day.
Nodding slightly, Emily fell in behind her and disappeared once more. Grumbling lightly, Marrow fell in behind her to the right and looked around, his yellow eyes scanning for any sign of the Blight.
“I’m sure we will both get used to it,” Jala said with a smile to the Bendazzi and left the door open behind her a bit longer than normal. She glanced at the hall behind her and wondered how she was ever going to be able to tell if Emily had made it through a doorway before she closed it. She didn’t care much for the thought of continually smacking the child with doors.
“I go through before you do, when you first open it,” Emily whispered in a voice so quiet Jala could barely make out the words. Silently, Jala nodded and wondered if her thoughts had truly been that obvious. With a quick glance down the hallway to make sure no one else had noticed her delay, she turned and headed toward the courtyard where Sovann waited.
“I was beginning to worry,” Sovann said as he stood. He was dressed as usual in loose fitting tunic and trousers but looked a bit more rumpled than normal. Dark circles hung under both of his deep green eyes and his hair was a bit tousled as well.
“You haven’t slept have you?” Jala asked as she stopped a few feet from him. Several books lay open on the ground beside him as well as a dozen or so memory crystals that he used for reference.
“I had a lot to do at home and I’ve been trying to research on how we are going to lift the curse in Goswin,” he explained with a sigh and brushed a lock of brown hair from his face.
“Any luck?” she asked hopefully.
He shook his head grimly and motioned vaguely at the books and crystals. “Not in any of those but there is a possibility I might find a method in another book. It will take time to research.” He let out a deep sigh and looked her over with a frown. “What happened to your arm?” He asked, motioning at the sleeve of her dress.
Following his gaze Jala looked down at her own arm and frowned. She had chosen a long sleeved dress to hide the bandage but apparently that wasn’t going to work with her friends. “A little cut it’s nothing,” she said in dismissal.