The Untruths of Time

or

The Golden Watch

by Shawn Hagen

Updated October 2017

Author's Notes

Recently I have received some requests that I return to these earlier stories and try to correct the grammar and spelling mistakes that I missed, to improve the overall quality of these offerings.

After giving it some thought I decided I would do that.

At this moment I do not plan any sort of large-scale rewrite, but there will be some small changes.

I will make a note of any changes at the end of the chapters in which such changes occur.

Shawn Hagen

The Child and the Tiger

Ivory woke with a scream that quickly turned to a whimper as she put her hands over her mouth. In her chest, her heart beat like a frantic bird, and it sounded loud in her ears. Her eyes moved back and forth as she looked about the small cave in which she sheltered.

"You need not fear," a rumbling voice said from her side, "there is nothing near that will seek you out."

"I'm sorry."

"You do not need to apologise to me, Ivory."

"I had that dream again Hu."

"Do you remember it?" Hu asked her.

She shook her head and moved closer to him, pressing up against him, feeling his thick, soft fur.

"Before you woke, I heard you call out for your mother," he told her.

"My mother?"

"Yes."

"I wish I could remember."

"Give it time," he told her, his breath ruffling her hair.

Ivory leaned up against Hu's side, his fur warm in the cold air of the wooden cave of tree roots. She could not get back to sleep. She was too anxious and too frightened that she might dream again. So she stayed awake, waiting for the sun to rise.

In the predawn light, the darkness faded, and the world was washed out in grey. Above her Ivory could see the exposed roots of the tree she sheltered beneath. The river below her was still dark, but she caught a flash of silvery grey as a trout leapt from the water to snap at some insect. Above she heard the whistles of the bats as they returned to their home in the crown of the tree.

As the sun rose, colour began to fade into the forest. The rich browns of tree trunks, greens of undergrowth, broken by the occasional splashes of white, and pink and blue of wild-flowers. The river sparkled, dark blue, broken by the white of ripples and splashes.

In her shelter, the roots of a massive tree-the dirt that had once surrounded them washed away by a flooding river long ago-Ivory shifted away from Hu, the morning already warming up.

Ivory was a girl, perhaps a year or two away from her adolescence. She was slight; there was something fragile seeming about her. Her skin, where it showed through the dirt, was pale. Her hair, tangled and dirty, was a dark, deep red. And her eyes were golden. The short, dark pink kimono she wore had seen better days, being both stained and tattered.

Her companion, Hu, was a tiger, large even for the great cats. His fur was a golden red, striped with black so dark it seemed as if they were slashes in his body.

Ivory shifted around, pulling her knees up to her chest. She looked down at the river as it flowed by, staring at the sunlight reflected in it.

"It's time to move on," Hu said.

Ivory was never sure if she actually heard Hu talk, or if it was just in her head. She sometimes wondered if he could speak to others. "I don't want to," she told him.

"You are a chosen of the Sun." His tone of voice or thought bordered on harsh. "You can't hide away."

Ivory pulled her knees up tighter against her chest, hunched down. She sniffed back tears. It was on her lips to say, 'I didn't wanna be,' but she said nothing. It did not matter what she wanted.

It never really had.

Hu made a sound between a growl and a sigh, got up, and padded out from beneath the tree, passing through a gap in the cage of roots. A moment later he was leaping up the river bank, and then he was gone from sight.

Ivory sat where she was for a while, trying to feel sorry for herself, trying to work up what her nurse had used to call an 'Epic Sulk and tantrum', but it was not in her.

And she had to pee.

She scrambled out of the small cave and climbed the bank. She walked some distance away, not particularly worried, sure that Hu would be watching out for danger. Most of the trees were not particularly old, nor tall, and did not block out the sunlight, so the forest undergrowth was thick. It sometimes made walking difficult, and thorns would tear the hem of her kimono, though they never broke her skin.

As she squatted down to relieve herself, pulling her long, matted hair over her shoulder, so it was out of the way, she wished, not for the first time in the past several weeks, that she was home. One of the maids would wake her, to help her bathe and get dressed before she went off for her breakfast and then lessons.

It had been a long time since she had had a proper bath, as the dirt that covered her could attest to.

After returning to the river, she washed her hands as well as she could, then began walking upstream. Along the way, she picked berries off bushes for her breakfast. A patch of mushrooms tempted her, but she left them lest they prove poisonous. Hu could probably tell her if they were good, but he was making himself scarce.

She would save the mushrooms for lunch, if they were safe, she decided.

Some distance from her root cave Ivory came to a large waterfall. The water ran off a cliff, nearly ten times her height, splashing down into a shallow bed of fine sand and large boulders. She took off her kimono, and the once white under kimono, and laid them on a stone. Naked, she moved out into the river.

The water was chilly, but she found a deep pool, where the water was partially trapped by several boulders, which was warmer. She sank into it up to her neck and then picked up handfuls of sand from the river bed and used it to scrub at her skin.

It took a while to get reasonably clean, the abrasive sand removing the dirt, her skin unharmed. Dunking her head beneath the water, she did what she could to clean her hair. In the end, she got it relatively clean, but it was even more tangled than before. For a time she tried pulling at the knots, but it was painful and frustrating, and she gave up in tears.

As she splashed over to where her clothing was, she found Hu lying on his back on a rock, basking in the sun. She grabbed her kimono and then moved back into the water, dunking the material into the water to try to clean it.

Her experience with washing was restricted to mostly watching servants do it, and she had found that so dull she had never watched for long.

She tried wringing things out, which worked somewhat. Then she tried rubbing it on a stone, and that only wore a hole in it.

"I hate this," she said, slapping the under kimono hard on the rock.

"You are somewhat helpless at it," Hu agreed.

Turning, she glared angrily at him. His eyes were closed. "Lota help you are." She frowned.

"There is a village with an Inn only a few hours away," he told her. "You have money. You can sleep in a real bed, have a real bath, and get new clothing."

Ivory turned away from him, dunking the clothing back under water, swishing it back and forth in hopes that it would get cleaner.

She was, she knew, frightened. She did not want to be with people, did not want to see hate and fear in their eyes.

Hu had told her that she need not worry, that she could easily hide her nature. It was true, but she was still afraid. It was strange that she felt that way, and Ivory did not really understand it. Only one person had seen her for what she had become, and Gazan was a horrible person. But still, when he had called her 'Anathema' when she had seen that look of horror and revulsion on his face, that had torn at her.

She padded back to the bank and hung her clothing to dry on some bushes. Then she sat on a sun-warmed rock not far from Hu.

"Alright, we'll go to the village," she said.

He opened his large, golden brown eyes. "Don't worry," he told Ivory, his tone kind.

Vinleau was a day's travel west along the river from Great Forks. Built in a hilly region, close to the river. There were flooded fields near the river banks where rice was grown. Higher up were fields of grains and corn. Above the village orchards and vineyards grew. The buildings were mostly two stories tall, with stone bases, low brick walls, and then wood.

On the highest hill was a grand building of stone, a monastery, a brewery, a distillery, and a winery. The structure was dedicated to Burning Feather, Lady of Intoxicants, a shrine in its own way. The monks, a group of master brewers, distillers and vintners, sought to create the best intoxicants they were capable of, in honour of their mistress.

Once a season the monks brought their wares down to the village market, and merchants from as far away as Greyfalls would come to buy. Once a year the monks held a martial arts tournament, for many of the brotherhood were skilled in the fighting arts, especially the style known as the Orgiastic Fugitive Style.

The Inn in Vinleau was much larger than what was usually found in villages of its size. It was five stories tall, with several additions, side buildings that made it sprawl. It was built on the edge of the village, to provide it room to expand.

Above the front door hung a sign that depicted a foaming mug of beer wrapped with a thorn vine, and written under the mug, in River Speak, the words 'The Barley and the Briar'.

Ivory walked along the road, approaching the town from the side closest to the Inn. Hu had scouted it for her, told her how everything was laid out. She wanted to avoid as many people as possible. For all that Hu had assured her that she need not fear, she could not help it.

The tiger was not with her, but Ivory knew he was close. He would show up if she needed help. He had killed to protect her several times already during her dangerous journey.

A few people took notice of her, but it seemed to be more curiosity than anything else.

The roads that led into the village were covered in crushed rock. The small stones might have been painful to anyone else in bare feet, but Ivory did not feel them though she had lost her sandals weeks before.

Past the stable, the area directly in front of the Inn was covered in flagstones, swept clean and smooth. She stopped on the threshold, then took a deep breath and entered.

It was bright within, large windows let in the late afternoon sunlight, clean, tables and chairs neatly ordered. A young woman in a simple, dark blue dress, her hair wrapped in a grey scarf, was sweeping the polished, wooden floor. There was a long counter along the far wall, behind it stood an older woman, looking through a ledger of some sort.

Ivory walked across the floor, hoping that her feet were not leaving any dirty prints, and came to a stop in front of the counter. The woman's clothing was simple but well made. She had short, dark blonde hair, her face was round, her cheeks red.

"Excuse me," Ivory said.

The woman looked up from the ledger and smiled. "Hello there," she said. Her River Speak had an accent to it that Ivory had heard before, and found easy enough to understand, but had not been able to reproduce. "How can I help you?"

Ivory reached into the sleeve of her kimono and took out four jade bits. Her mother had given her money for the Imperial City. Ivory could almost hear her voice as she remembered, 'If you want anything, buy it yourself. Don't ask for presents, it's not polite.' She knew that the jade bits were valuable, and even more so out in the Threshold. Perhaps she should have only put one out at first, but she did not want to appear cheap. Her mother had always told her it was better to be over-generous.

"I would like a room, for several days," Ivory said as she reached out and put the bits on the counter. "Food too, and some clothing, and a bath," she said it all quickly, trying to sound certain. Then she added, "I'm waiting for friends." She thought it best the woman think someone was coming for her.

The woman looked at the bits on the counter. She reached up to brush an errant lock of hair from her eyes, then picked up one of the bits.

"Where did you get this child?" she asked, kindly enough, but Ivory immediately knew that the woman thought she had stolen it.

"It's mine," she said. "I was given it," she paused, "if I needed something."

The woman seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then, as if coming to a decision, nodded. "Well, you look honest enough," and her smile widened. "My name is Maddie Briar, what's yours?" She swept the jade bits into her hand and then put them into a pocket in her dress.

"Ivory."

"Well Ivory, please come with me, and I'll see about getting you everything you asked for." As she walked out from behind the counter, she called to the woman sweeping the floor, "Mio, go tell Jek to make sure the bath boilers are fired up, and then go to the cupboard and get the styling bag and put in the bathing room."

Maddie, Ivory noted, was not fat, but there was a rounded quality to her. Her face, her limbs, her body, all slightly rounded. Maddie was, she decided, attractive.

"Yes Miss Briar," Mio said, dropping into a shallow curtsey before putting her broom aside and running off.

"This way Ivory," Maddie said and walked through a door beside the counter and into the back of the Inn.

Ivory followed her, out of the common room, past what was probably the kitchen, and then up three flights of stairs. Maddie took a ring of keys from her belt, sorted through them, removed one from the ring, and then unlocked the door. "Here you go," she said, standing aside so that Ivory might enter.

The room she had been shown was quite large, with big windows that let the light in, and curtains that could be pulled to cover them. The floor was polished wood, covered with a large rug. There was a four-poster, canopied bed, a wardrobe, chairs, a vanity with mirror, a table, a fireplace, all of it well made. There were two doors in the room as well.

Maddie pointed at one of the doors and said, "That's leads into the washroom. The other one would be a servant's room if you had one."

"Thank you."

Maddie nodded. "If you need anything, please ask. You can come down to the common-room if you are hungry, but we only serve three real meals, and only at set times I'm afraid."

Ivory nodded.

"Well, if you will pardon me. I'll come up and show you to the baths once they are ready."

"Thank you."

"Your key." Maddie held out the key she had used to unlock the door.

Ivory took it.

Smiling again, Maddie turned and left.

"See, nothing to worry about," Ivory heard Hu say from behind her. "You have already charmed her."

Ivory turned to see Hu lying on the bed. It said something about the size of the bed that the tiger did not make it look small. "I guess."

She walked over to the bed and reached into her kimono, pulling out a small pouch. It was fat with jade, mostly obols. There were some possible hiding spots in the room, but she ended up putting it under the mattress in the small room that was meant for a servant.

She walked back into the main room and over to the bed. Hu watched her. "This will be a good place to rest," he said.

Ivory nodded as she continued to look around the room, opening drawers and looking under furniture.

A few minutes later there was a knock on her door.

Knowing that Hu would be hidden before anyone could see him Ivory opened the door without concern. It was Maddie. "Your bath is ready," she said.

"Thank you," Ivory stepped out of her room.

"Don't forget to lock your door."

After securing the door, Ivory followed Maddie back down to the first floor. Instead of returning to the common-room they went to the back of the inn, to a room with a slate floor on which large, copper tubs sat. Pipes led to each tub, and the room was warm. One of the tubs was already full of steaming water.

Maddie pulled a privacy screen around the tub and then helped Ivory get undressed.

Though she had done her best to get herself clean that morning, it was not long after she had got in the tub that the water took on a grey tint. Maddie had her get out of the tub, giving her a thick towel to wrap around herself, and then drained the tub. She filled it again, adding some oils and soap to the water. "Back in," she said.

This time the water stayed mostly clear, though it was full of soap. Maddie put some soap on a cloth and used it to scrub Ivory's back, her neck, and even behind her ears.

"Do you usually help people in the bath?" Ivory asked, curious.

"Not often," Maddie said, and laughed, "but you looked like you could use a little help. I couldn't be sure that a girl with that much dirt on her knew how to wash up."

Ivory was not sure if Maddie was teasing or not. None of the maids from home had ever teased her like that, not so brazenly at least. Sometimes her nanny had, she recalled. But nannies were allowed certain liberties, she had long ago decided.

"Let's drain the tub once more and then I'll see if I can make that birds nest on your head to look neat." She picked up the towel and held it out for Ivory.

When the tub was once more full of water and Ivory in it, Maddie used a dipper to pour hot water over Ivory's hair. She then washed it three times with soap that smelled of mint before working a thick, floral smelling cream into it. With a comb, she set about working the tangles out of the hair. It hurt, sometimes, but Ivory just sat in the cooling water and did not complain. Well, not too much.

"As much as I thought it impossible," Maddie said as she ran the comb through Ivory's tangle free hair, "it seems there was a pretty girl under all that dirt. Bless Burning Feather for an incredible miracle.

Knowing that Maddie was teasing Ivory laughed.

Maddie gave her a fresh towel to dry herself with, while Maddie herself carefully dried Ivory's hair. "Don't want to get it all tangled again."

There was a change of clothing waiting for her by the door. Nothing fancy, but it was all well made. There were undergarments, cotton stockings, a red skirt that went down below her knees and was only a little too big, a white blouse with floral needlework up the front, and a pair of soft, leather shoes.

"That looks like it all fits well enough," Maddie commented.

Ivory nodded as she did up the last buttons.

"What about these?" Maddie held up the clothing that Ivory had been wearing earlier.

"I don't know," Ivory said.

"How about I see if we can get them cleaned up and perhaps repaired? If not, well, maybe we could have a blouse or something made from them. It is a lovely material.

"Okay," Ivory said, though she really did not care about the clothes. It seemed Maddie did, and it would have been rude to ignore her suggestions.

"Let get you something to eat," Maddie said as she folded up the kimono.

It was dark when one of the maids-not that they were maids as Ivory thought of them-an older woman named Bea, showed Ivory back to her room. She lit a lamp, and several candles warned Ivory to make sure they were all blown out before going to bed, and then left.

Hu padded out from the shadows. "You look much better."

"Thank you," she told him. She noted to door to the wardrobe was open, within had been placed several other pieces of clothing.

"A woman came and put those there," Hu said. "She did not search the room, and locked the door behind her."

Ivory nodded as she took off her clothes and then put on a soft nightgown that she found in the wardrobe.

She was suddenly feeling exhausted, the hot bath and full stomach catching up with her all at once. Moving about the room she extinguished the candles and lamp. She crawled up onto the big bed and slipped under the clean covers. The sheets smelt of sunshine and cedar.

The mattress shifted as Hu climbed up on the bed. Ivory's last memory before falling asleep was the tiger lying down by her side.

Notes

I originally forgot when writing this chapter, that Exalts, thanks to their lethal damage soak, are not as fragile as mortals. The earlier version of this story had Ivory being scratched by thorns, her skin made pink by abrasive sand, and the possibility of her bare feet being hurt by stones.

So I removed those things, changing it to make it evident that she was not being hurt.

Those were the only changes made to this chapter.