Fall and Rise of the Phoenix

Fall and Rise of the Phoenix

Nicole held her breath as she slowly pushed open the wooden door. The visitor had passed out on his bed the night before, and none of the servants of Castle Barentine were brave enough to enter his chambers. She was the daughter of the castle's seneschal, however, and if she couldn't bully the castle's servants to enter the visitor's room while he was in it, the duty fell to her.

Nicole pushed the door open wide enough to stick her head in. What she saw made her gasp. The visitor was stretched out on the bed on his stomach, a thick blanket covering him from his lower back downward. It was the tattoo on his back that had made Nicole gasp. It was a magnificently drawn golden phoenix, which would rival anything that a court artist create.

Nicole had heard tales from visitors to the court of Barentine of a nation of people further to the north, who fought wearing nothing but body paint. The tattoos on those people, though, were crude stripes, circles and dots. Nicole had never heard of a tattoo done with such careful detail. Truth be told, she had never seen such a work of art on a canvas of cloth, much less a canvas of skin.

Seeing that the visitor was still asleep, Nicole carefully carried in a tray with a pan of spring water as well as cup of prunellé. Nicole carefully set the tray down by the comatose visitor, and made her way to the door.

She had just made it to the door when a croaking voice behind her bade her "Stay!" Nicole froze in place, as she heard the sound of the visitor moving behind her.

(work in progress)