Flindra used her own leather belt to gather the dress in around her waist. The knife hanging from the belt was the sole ornament for the dress, which was somehow fitting for the circumstances. She left her other daggers on top of her clothes.
She then brushed her hair to remove any lingering tangles. She fished the golden hair comb from her saddlebag and held it out for Kewero to see.
"Was this my mother's?"
"The comb is a gift from Queen Kwenth."
"Queen Kwenth was King Meldh's wife, wasn't she?"
"Yes. Queen Kwenth knew about the struggles you are destined to face. The comb is a small gift to warm your heart in times of trouble. It is a mother's gift to her distant offspring."
Flindra looked at it tenderly before she used it to hold her hair back from her face.
Kewero smiled. "Turn around, Flindra, I want to see you."
With a blush, she turned around slowly.
"Well, you look much more like a princess now. You have a regal bearing, which suits you well. While you are here, you will dress like a princess. You need to practice being one so you won't feel so lost when you do take your destined place."
"Thank you for letting me wear this gown - it is very beautiful."
"My dear, I'm not letting you wear anything. The dress is yours. Your mother left it for you. Let me show you your bedchamber and then I will teach you how to contact Dakra. Come."
They returned to the main part of the cave and then walked down another of the many outlets radiating from this chamber. They passed several small openings before Kewero halted before one. "This will be your room while you are here. You will need the crystal sphere, leave everything else."
Flindra hurriedly left her belongings just beyond the entrance to her room. They continued down the path and entered a series of switchbacks and so they dropped rapidly in elevation. They followed the track until it widened to the entrance of a large cavern. Kewero pulled her to a stop just within the entrance.
Flindra drew a surprised and awed breath at the astounding view. She was standing in a large cave that was covered with crystals. The gems glowed with an internal light, which pulsated in a slow, regular rhythm. Looking closer, she realized her first assessment was wrong - the cave was not covered with crystals. It was made of the crystalline material! Even the floor of the cavern consisted of the translucent and glowing crystals.
Kewero spoke in a soft and reverent voice. "This is the womb of the cavern and of our world. This is where the Spirit envisioned our world and created its reality. Here, we are surrounded by the Spirit. We are in the seed around which Spirit began to order the primordial chaos. Our world is the reality He lent to this portion of the chaos.
"I don't really understand."
Kewero released a spontaneous laugh. "Don't worry about that too much, little one. The Spirit is far beyond our level of understanding. One can only really understand the Spirit with the faith of the heart. It is a wisdom of faith and not a knowing or comprehension."
"Oh."
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