Sonder woke in the morning.
There was a dizzying moment of confusion in which she couldn't quite understand where she was.
She lay still, staring at the ceiling, trying to gather herself.
Light was coming through a window, much brighter than she remembered it being when she had gone to sleep.
She turned her head, and then everything seemed all right.
Vell was sitting at a table, mulling over something. He seemed perfectly content, as though he had been awake for some time.
He looked up.
"Ah, you're awake."
Sonder slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing her eyes.
Her body felt heavy.
She looked towards the window again. The sunlight was well past the early morning brightness she had expected.
"Is it already midday? How long have I been asleep?" she asked.
"You slept quite a while. But it's not quite noon yet."
"You let me sleep for that long?"
"Of course. You needed the rest. I thought it would be rather cruel to wake you when you were finally getting some proper sleep."
He gave her a small smile.
She took a little more time to wake properly. Her thoughts gradually became clearer, and the lingering grogginess began to fade. Eventually, she got out of bed and made herself presentable, then joined Vell at the table.
"What should we do today?" she asked.
"I thought that I might go and meet with Meli's master."
There was something about the way he phrased it that Sonder did not like.
She had been curious about Meli's master ever since she had first heard about him.
Since she and Vell had come here to look for clues as to whether Endrith had been here, a scholar seemed like a reasonable person to approach with questions about anything unusual or out of place.
"Have you spoken to Meli yet?"
"I have. I met her early this morning and asked her to arrange a meeting for me, provided her master had the time. Fortunately, he did. He has agreed to see me at noon."
Sonder glanced at the window again.
"It is almost noon now."
"Indeed. I suppose we ought to be grateful that he was willing to spare the time."
She considered this for a moment.
"Are we going together?"
"No."
"You want to meet him alone?"
"At least for the first meeting, yes."
"Is that a good idea?"
Vell tilted his head slightly.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
A rather sinister thought crossed Sonder's mind.
"We do not know anything about him. He could be dangerous," she said, her tone more distrustful than usual. "And the thought of leaving you to meet with some stranger in your condition... I do not like it."
Vell looked at her.
"My girl, I am going to have a conversation with a scholar. I don't intend to challenge him to a duel."
"That is not what I meant," she said, then paused before continuing more slowly. "I do not want to leave you alone."
"I know. But I am not helpless."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Besides, I very much doubt anything exciting will happen. It will probably be a very boring meeting between two old men, discussing the weather and the history of the city. Perhaps we shall disagree about something, and then spend an unreasonable amount of time explaining why we are both right."
Sonder did not seem entirely convinced.
"I'll be all right."
"Vell..."
She sighed.
He was clearly trying to reassure her, and she knew that.
Still, she did not particularly like the thought of him wandering into an unfamiliar situation on his own.
But he was not a child, and Sonder accepted his decision.