“I"ll be there in a moment,” Zya called, and hastily arranged her clothes and brushed her hair. She had not had a chance to change from the night before; she would have to do so later. Her mirror showed less than satisfactory results, but that would suffice for now. She had never been one for appearances. Crossing her room quietly, she opened the door and stepped back. As expected, Bethen crossed the threshold, a sunny smile spread like a lie across her face. If she had known that Zya had witnessed her every word, she would not have been smiling. Still Zya had decided to play along, for now.
“Good morning,” Bethen said in a voice that seemed happy to behold the dawn of another day, “did you sleep well?”
Zya suppressed a shudder. “I slept like the forest in winter last night,” she answere
