Lyrianne of the Song, Part 5

Lyrianne yawned and stretched her arms, shrugging off the heavy blanket from the prior evening. She carefully rose to her feet, noting that someone had carefully moved her to a pile of plush cushions carefully arranged on the floor. The fire was long dead, its ashes cold and still in the awakening light of dawn, a mere memory of the night before. She closed her eyes and stretched carefully, banishing her muscles' sore aches while marveling at the previous evening's unexpected company.   Surely it must have been a dream?   "Good morning!"   She winced, startled at the surprisingly cheerful greeting, and spun around to face the caretaker. He was as industrious as always, this time sweeping the already spotless floor of the temple, his unmistakable grin as brilliant as always.   "Hello again," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes wirh another yawn. "... How long was I asleep?"   "Long enough. Let me say, that's quite the snore you have." He met her mortified expression with a toothy grin before throwing back his head in laughter, his loud gaffaws filling the temple. Lyrianne's gaze darted about wildly in embarrassment but not one of the few occupants of the House of Flowers spared a glance in her direction.   "Don't be so nervous, Child." The caretaker turned back to her, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "It was a joke. Don't pay me any mind." His face softened at her dour expression. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Please forgive me? Talking to you has reminded me of how it felt to be young, and there are a great many things I have forgotten..."   Lyrianne watched as the caretaker's face grew distant with long-past memories. She adjusted her ear fins, tapping into her Imperium to catch his murmered musings. "It has been a long time since I have laughed like that. Centuries? Millenia? Who even knows these days..." He focused back on Lyrianne suddenly, shaking off the memories. She quickly relaxed her ear fins, embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping, but the caretaker either hadn't noticed or didn't care. He addressed her apologetically. "No matter. Please excuse my ramblings. You have questions, yes?"   Lyrianne's head was swimming with unanswered riddles. What did everything mean last night? What did the Goddesses want of her? What was she supposed to do, save the world? What was this rebalancing thing? What was going to happen to her mother, who hadn't even been chosen by the Goddesses to contract dementia, as the teachings of the Three Songs had led her to believe? And now, on top of all of that, how old was this caretaker, really?   She shook her head and returned what she hoped was a smile. "No, I'm fine, really."   The caretaker looked at her sideways, unconvinced, but eventually shrugged his shoulders, resigned. "If you say so? Maybe I'm just really out of touch these days? It's been a while since I tried to plan anything big." He motioned towards her cloak, now neatly folded by the edge of the fire pit. "Nice needlework, by the way. Your mother still brags about your sewing, and her pride is well founded... I hope you don't mind the alterations we made, but you might need them."   Lyrianne snatched up the cloak, possessively holding it to her chest before relaxing to study the caretaker's alterations. The colorful fabric had carefully been layered with a rough, undyed brown outer fabric, the simple button at the neck replaced with a delicate silver clasp displaying a trio of music notes. She looked up at the caretaker quizzically.   "In case you don't want to stand out so much," he explained patiently. "Who knows if you will need to hide? But don't worry." He pointed proudly towards the clasp and Lyrianne noticed her button was still sewn onto the opposite side along the inner liner. "I couldn't ruin your needlework, after all. It's fully reversible, for when you still want to show your true colors."   Lyrianne inspected the new stitching, noting the caretaker's attempts to imitate her own style. It wasn't her work, but it wasn't bad work either. She felt the new outer fabric, a soft pliable material with a faint oily texture, some sort of coating to repel water. "Thanks," she said at last, looking up at the caretaker who had been eyeing her during the inspection.   He visibly relaxed. "You like it? I did hope you'd like it."   "I love it!" Lyrianne couldn't keep the excitement from her voice. She could feel her inner seamstress bubbling through. "I can't wait to see how it holds up in the rain. What repellent did you use?"   "Lyrianne!" A'drol's voice boomed from the temple entrance, causing the other attending caretakers to glare in his direction in annoyance at the interruption. He sheepishly lowered his voice, but only slightly. "What are you doing here this early?"   Lyrianne turned to smile at her brother, his young son sitting astride his broad shoulders. "Aunt Lyrianne's here!" the young boy exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands and flaring his ear fins. "What did you sew for me?" The boy's older sister grinned, watching her brother's excitement, before extending the grin towards Lyrianne.   "Now, now, No'lan," Tianna chided, emerging from behind her husband, an infant cradled in her arms. "Don't pester your Aunt. We're all here to see Grandma, you know that."   Lyrianne smiled back at her brother's exuberant family. Their arrival was a welcome distraction from her thoughts over the past few days. "I didn't realize you were visiting today."   Some of the attending caretakers were moving towards them now, faces displaying annoyance at the shouting. A'drol sent them a glance of apology before shouting once more. "The kids wanted to see Grandma again, so we thought we'd visit as a family. I don't want to keep shouting, why don't we meet in her room?"   "Sure, let me just finish up here." Lyrianne motioned towards the caretaker, who had been waiting patiently for the conversation to conclude.   A'drol looked at her quizzically. "Praying to the firepit or something? Okay, whatever works, I guess?"   Lyrianne motioned towards her caretaker friend after verifying he was still beside her. "No, just talking to..." She paused, watching her brother's teasing expression deepen into concern. "Oh, never mind. I'll meet you at Mama's room." She watched his usher his family into their mother's room before turning back to the caretaker. "What was that all about?"   "They can't see me, that's all." The words were nonchalant, unlike the answer.   "What do you mean they can't see you?" Lyrianne leaned in closer to the caretaker. "You drink an invisibility potion or something just to make me look crazy?"   The caretaker laughed again. "No, of course not!" His face turned suddenly serious. "I have a confession... I am not your caretaker friend. Sull's song ended yesterday morning. Peacefully, in his sleep. A well-deserved rest."   Lyrianne's confusion returned with a vengeance. So the person she was talking to last night wasn't her new friend, but someone pretending to look like him? She felt a pang of guilt at the realization she had never asked his name.   "Who are you, then? And why are you pretending to be... Sull?"   "Surely Child you must know by now? I am the Goddess Patheia, come to show you your new path." The caretaker-goddess motioned towards one of the temple's other attending caretakers, carefully maneuvering the late Sull's wife and her levitating chair towards the fire pit. The woman's face lit up with recognition as she spotted Sull's form. "Even with her dementia she still recognizes that Sull means something important to her. She doesn't have long left in this world. I intend to provide what comfort I can until her song here has ended and she can resume with her beloved husband."   Lyrianne attempted to direct anger towards Patheia for the deception, but found herself unable to summon any. "Oh."   "But enough about all that!" Patheia motioned towards Lyrianne's mother's room. "You have places to be. Go be with your family. Your mother is more lucid than her typical this morning. You should enjoy what time you have with her." She paused briefly before adding, "We still need to talk about your mission, after. Just remember, whatever happens, you are a strong empathetic young woman. You are fully capable of a great many things, and my sisters and I will lend you what strength we can. Now, go. Be with your mother."   Lyrianne watched as Patheia, still wearing Sull's appearance, walked towards Sull's wife, singing one of the Three Songs hymns. She smiled briefly before turning to Mama's room to join her brother's family. Wait until they heard about her evening.