#day 5!

There should have been panic and dismay in remembering this place. This was where she lost her mother for the second time. But strangely, Nabi felt none of it; instead, there was a warmth that ran down her back, something fluttering airly, just like the petals. She felt safe. This was before the chamber of flowers had been overcome with monstrous overgrowths, before their beauty was swallowed by endless tangles of vines and dark ivy that sought to choke out all else.

It was a time when the flowers were singing freely. And the melody was so familiar to her. It felt like she had heard it all her life, and even in her past lives. A lullaby that soothed her when death came, and resonated along with her first cry as a newborn babe. The petals turned from gold to black then back again, following the cycle of the sun and moon, the light and the dark. Things were at peace.

Then Nabi felt a shudder run through her, as a warm dark droplet stained the golden bloom. The songs quieted in the face of pain filled cries and echoes of laughter that only knew cruelty. The blood that soaked the soil was warm at first, then thick and cold as it reached the roots. When the petals began to once more take on the night’s colors, the songs began to change. There was a low timbre of sadness, anger, and despair woven into the melody. It remembered the wrongs that were witnessed. 

And deep within the earth, there were stirrings. The tempering of the lullaby did not go unnoticed.

-

With a gasp, Nabi opened her eyes. It took a moment for her to focus in the darkness, for her senses to reacclimate to her surroundings. The constant whirl of magitek was slow to filter in, as were the views of her confinement. But what caught her attention was a small white object, a folded handkerchief in the shape of a boat. It was laid on the floor, where Gideon North would have been sleeping.

Nabi didn’t know whether it was the unexpected view of such an object or the fact that she hadn’t seen origami in ages, much less in fabric form, but it served to soothe her nerves despite the retainer’s unannounced absence. She sat up in her bed, and without a thought, looked over her shoulder to her back. She half expected the manifestation of her dream to still be present.

Of course, the metal weight around her ankle also then made itself known.

But today was the day when she and Mister North were going to beseech the Doctor to take it off. To allow her to use her aether in the presence of Estrid, to see how she could affect the lady of the house with conscious effort. All the effects thus far had been passive or incidental.

There was a quiver of anticipation in the pit of her stomach. Nabi knew she had to be careful. She couldn’t just explore her aether as she had Anchor’s; there was nothing to guide her in such an attempt. But she had to show some results to the Doctor so that he may be satisfied with more progress. And then, just maybe, he would allow her more freedom without the aether dampener, and she would have more opportunities at hand. Whether that would be to help Estrid or to escape, Nabi knew not. Not yet.