Chapter Sixteen

Meredith was woken by a stream of light pouring through her window, and a weak cough which appeared to have come from someone standing just outside the window. As she opened her eyes and slowly sat up- her body aching from the position in which she had fallen asleep and the chains which bound and cut into her ankles- she let out a cry of disbelief as she saw Katrin sitting up with her back against the wall, eyes open, studying the ceiling.

“Katrin!” gasped Meredith, laying a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “You’re awake!”

Katrin turned and looked at Meredith. Her face was pale, her eyes dull, her lips cracked. But she managed a weak smile.

“I’m so glad you’ve woken up,” said Meredith, patting Katrin’s hand. “I was practically going off my head with no-one to talk to. Except from White Bear and Willow. White Bear’s the boy who saved you, you know. And Willow’s his sister. Oh, and she’s also the baby’s mother! Would you believe it? Such good news! It’s about the only good...”

But she stopped short. There was no point in informing Katrin about their situation just yet. It was probably the last thing the poor girl needed to hear. So instead, she informed her that breakfast would soon be arriving and that Willow would bring it. Katrin nodded. Either she was too weak to talk, or she had nothing to say.

Minutes later the door to the cell opened and, true to form, Willow appeared with their breakfast. She must have expected Katrin to be awake as there was a little more on the tray this morning. Hastily setting the tray down on the ground between the two girls, she hurried away again, without a word or even a smile. Meredith wondered if this was how all the Chinukee women acted, or if Willow was just very shy.

Once she was gone, Meredith eyed the tray hungrily. This morning there was a large hunk of bread, two dishes containing something that resembled a thick lentil soup, a dish of cold meat and two beakers of sweet milk. She wasted no time in offering one of the beakers to her sister, even though her own stomach was crying out.

“Here you go,” said Meredith, gently. “Some nice, cold milk. Drink it all up.”

Katrin was too weak to throw Meredith one of her don’t-treat-me-like-a-baby looks. Instead, she allowed her sister to hold up the beaker for her as she slowly sipped the cool liquid. After a few mouthfuls she stopped and turned her head.

“It hurts my throat,” she said, weakly.

Meredith was glad to hear her sister’s voice, but she put the beaker down and shook her head remorsefully.

“Well, we’ll take a break and you can have a rest later. But you better drink it all up. You haven’t eaten or had a drink for at least two days.”

“Meredith,” said Katrin, hoarsely, and caught her sister’s hand, “Meredith- yesterday, when that girl Willow and her brother were here- I heard. I heard it all.”

“You heard it? All?” Meredith arched an eyebrow. “But I thought you were... asleep.”

“I was. Well, kind of... I could still hear things,” said Katrin, her voice dropping to a whisper. “It’s sort of hard to explain. I felt like I was dreaming, but I could hear voices and see shapes. It was like... like I was watching from another room.

“Did you feel it when Willow gave you the medicine?”

“Medicine? I don’t remember any medicine...”

“They gave you yellow-berry juice. I think that’s what they called it. Anyway, it appears to have worked. So what d’you think of it all, then? I mean, our situation and everything?”

Katrin stared at Meredith for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling. There was something in her expression that Meredith did not want to see. A kind of hopelessness and despair.

“What’s to think about it?” she retorted, shrugging her shoulders.

Meredith sighed and set to eating her own breakfast. Somehow it had lost all its taste.