Varda silently curses Cindra
“I don’t like this place at all”, Isaura said shivering and wrapping her arms around herself, “It feels wrong”.
Varda stared at Isaura’s pale, gaunt face and thought to herself that the woman did not look well at all. Her wide frightened eyes seemed huge in her skeletal face.
Varda tried to comfort her, “Don’t be silly… it’s just a lump of rock sticking up out of the sea, there’s nothing wrong about it at all except that there’s a storm coming and if they don’t hurry up and finish tying down the ships then we’re all going to get very wet”.
Varda tried to make her voice sound reassuring to the sickly woman, even though she felt unsettled by this strange place herself.
“But don’t you feel like this place is a bit scary”, Cindra joined in.
She had obviously been eavesdroppping on their conversation. Varda felt a surge of irritation at the young woman’s tactlessness. Isaura was looking frightened again and Varda shot a quick look of anger Cindra’s way. Cindra responded by grinning at her cheekily.
Varda silently cursed her, it was just like the silly girl to stir up trouble like this. Everything was a big joke to her and she obviously wasn’t observant enough to notice Isaura’s failing health.
“I mean I felt a shiver as soon as I stepped off the boat… all the way down to my toes”, Cindra said clearly enjoying the drama of the moment.
Varda wished she would have some decorum and a bit of sense to realise how much she was upsetting the other woman. But she forged right ahead until suddenly they both noticed a silent tear slide down Isaura’s cheek and drip onto the sand.
Cindra’s face fell when she suddenly understood that Isaura had taken everything she said to heart.
“Oh Izzy, I’m so sorry, I was just teasing you. I’m sure there’s nothing actually wrong with this place”, Cindra said trying to muster some conviction.
But Varda knew that Cindra had the same reservations as she did, she could hear it in the way her voice wavered just slightly when she said the word wrong. Varda sighed audibly, thinking that it would be a very good thing when Cindra grew up a bit. Having a mischevous girl like her running around the court was a disaster waiting to happen. Not that it was much of a court come to think of it.
“Well ladies”, she said brightly, “I feel the first drops of rain and it seems the men have finished with the ships so I suggest we retire inside before we are soaked by the impending downpour”.
And so the ladies interact! So they know something is obviously ‘weird’, but will they say anything to the others or their husbands? It must be quite something for them to feel it so intensely so soon.
Isaura seems emotionally delicate, too…. very interesting.
Mao… I guess most people on the island are picking up that there is something strange about it… some people more than others.
Sydonie… I guess Isaura has been fairly sickly for a very long time and she has had 3 miscarriages and a stillborn so she is fairly emotionally worn down in that regard.
Awww, poor Isaura. She looks so fragile.
That Cindra is too funny: “all the way down to my toes!” I’m sure she’ll shape up as she gets older. She doesn’t seem malicious, just insensitive.
And wow, is Isaura looking ghastly. Poor thing–and poor husband!
Yeah poor Isaura… I really did end up going a bit overboard with the whole sickly thing. She does look pretty awful.
I really like Cindra… she is turning out to be a lot of fun to write about. She is very young and silly now and you’re right Lothere… she isn’t trying to be mean, she is just a bored teenager stuck on an island with mostly, in her eyes stuffy adults who are rather preoccupied with building a new kingdom. And yes she is rather insensitive =) but hopefully she’ll grow out of that.
Looks like they’re going to have their hands full with that Cindra, hopefully she will learn to be more considerate, but then again it is always fun to have someone like her in a story!