Chapter 36
Joseph was happy to see Amanda still in the commons. She had a throw blanket wrapped around herself, nose buried in her book. He wondered if it was actually a subject she needed to study, or if it was book she was reading for fun.
"Hello. You are still reading?" Joseph said. He sat down next to her and set the cup of hot tea he carried on the glass coffee table. She looked over at him, smiled, and dog-eared her page and set the book down. He frowned. The simple action reminded him of Artix. He hadn't been outside since he'd gotten back, but he wondered if Artix was still guarding the door.
"Yeah, I just can't put it down. It's called 'Of Mice and Men', by John Steinbeck. Uh… judging from the conversation we had earlier… you probably don't know who he is, do you?" She muttered in self-realization. Joseph shook his head.
"No. What is it, the story?" He asked. Amanda blinked.
"Oh. Well, these two gentleman are searching for work, and they find jobs on a farm. One of them is mentally handicapped, and the other watches over him. That's all I've gotten so far; I just started reading it earlier today." She admitted. He shrugged, not knowing what "mentally handicapped" meant.
"Does it bother you, I am from another world?" He asked, the question weighing down his gut. She blushed and shook her head.
"No! Not at all! Like I said, you're you, aren't you?" She reminded him. He nodded slowly.
Nervous, she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. Thinking that she was cold, Joseph looked to the stack of firewood by the fireplace. The logs were thick, not having been cut yet. He stood, unsheathed his sword, grabbed one of the logs and tossed it in the air. As it came down, he struck once, twice, and maybe even three times in the blink of an eye, Amanda wasn't sure. She watched as the log split into pieces as it hit the ground.
"Whoa. I've never seen anybody move that fast! Amazing!" She blurted, her eyes wide with excitement. Joseph smiled, stooped down, and tossed the logs in the fireplace.
"I can light it with magic." She offered. He shook his head.
"I have my own magic." He stated. He focused, calming the flow of his energy, focusing it in his mouth. He took a deep breath in through his nostrils, and as his mouth felt searing hot, he blew. Successfully, a stream of fire shot from his mouth onto the dry logs and they caught fire easily.
Amanda could only stare at him, awed. As he studied the way she looked at him, he couldn't help but see how beautiful her blue eyes shimmered in the firelight, and the way her pale skin seemed smooth to the touch.
"Thank you." She whispered, finding that she could shed her blanket. He smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.
"Welcome." He replied, sitting down next to her. He stared at his tea, picked it up, and took a sip.
"Is that from Miss Sheeva's room? Are Severus and Kathryn ok?" She asked. Joseph sighed, and bit his lip.
"It is not my place to say." He stated simply, hoping that she would leave the subject alone; he didn't feel like betraying his friend's secrets. She nodded, and let it be.
They sat in silence for a moment. She wondered what could be happening with Severus and Kathryn. He wondered what she was thinking about, the awkward silence getting to him.
"It's been raining a lot lately." She started, trying to string a new conversation together. He looked at her, confused. Was he supposed to say something in return? She looked at him.
"Does it rain a lot on… Kadessa?" She asked, curious. Oh. He understood now. Conversation starters.
"Ta-um, yes. During… spring. But it is good for earth. Makes plants grow." He replied. A smile formed on his face as he thought about the rainfall and how good the earth smelt after a heavy downpour.
"I like smell of earth after rain. Not stone, or streets. But the… dirt. The grass." He blundered, wondering if he was using the right words. She smiled at him, and he figured he must have been.
"I like the smell of fireworks the next morning. New Year's Eve is one of my favorite holidays." She continued. He looked at her.
"New Year's… Eve? Is that to… party, for next year?" He said, trying to use what words he did know.
"Yeah. We celebrate all day and all night, in December, all around the world." She explained. He "hmm"ed to himself.
"Is it like ball? Like the Mask Ball?" He asked. She thought for a minute, then nodded, and shrugged at the same time. The body language confused him. Why is she saying yes, and then saying she doesn't know?
"Kind of? I suppose people could dress up and throw a masquerade ball." She smiled. He sat back, and crossed his arms.
"Do you guys have a 'New Year's Eve'? What world are you from, anyway?" She asked. He smirked.
"Tam. We have 'New Year's Eve' in…" He paused unsure whether to use "Fall" or "Autumn". They meant the same thing, didn't they? Was one more appropriate than the other? "When leaves fall." He decided.
"In Fall, huh? That's interesting. You have the same seasons?" She asked. Joseph thought for a minute. Yes, he supposed they did.
"Fall" or "Autumn", when one year ended and another began, when the leaves turned blue, red, and purple, and fell to the ground… when the wheat fields were ready for harvest. He missed their golden brown color. He missed the festivals. He figured he would miss the festival with his family, how they gathered to enjoy the grand feast welcoming the New Year, and celebrating Sara's graduation from school. Damn, he'd miss out on cluckatrice meat and baked squash.
In "Winter", the ground would be covered in a light-blue sheen of snow, and the trees would have naked limbs. The children of Raynak would play in the fields, throwing snowballs and building snowmen, or sliding down steep hills on sleds. He remembered grumbling when Donna would send him and Zakkari to shovel the snow off of the cobblestone pathway to their rickety old house.
In "Spring", massive thunderstorms would roll in, shaking the window panes of the rickety house with each deafening boom, and though it scared some of his siblings, he and Zakkari would let them curl in their tiny beds for comfort, the dripping of a leak from the holey roof into a wooden bucket. His siblings would go back to school, and he'd miss helping them with their homework by the light of a dying, stub of a candle.
Finally, in "Summer", when markets were full of fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables, ready to be cooked and devoured. He'd miss Donna's Egelberry pies, and maybe even the vegetable soup she made. He'd miss the Festival of Lovers, watching and laughing at men's futile efforts to woo and win over their beloveds.
He sighed, and slumped forward.
"I miss Kadessa." He stated. She smiled sadly, and set a hand on his shoulder.
"Can you go back?" She asked. He stared down at his hands.
"I do not know." He muttered, sighing.
She thought for a minute.
"Tell you what. I'll take you to Hogsmeade this Friday! And every season! I'm sure it will be the same, right?" She said cheerfully. He looked up at her.
"I do not see… how is Hogsmeade the same?" He wondered. She sighed, and shook her head.
"Just trust me. You'll see." She promised, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. He felt the smile creep to his face, and before he could fight it, he grinned.
"Ok." He agreed.
"How many moons do you have on Kadessa?" She asked, curious. He looked at her, and shook his head.
"Kadessa is like Europe. Sferra is like Earth." He corrected her. She muttered an "oh", nodding her head.
"We have two moons. Kursu is small, Celeste is bigger." He answered.
"Oh. We only have one, we just call it 'the moon'." She explained, giving a silly grin.
"What other places do you have on… Sferra? Just Kadessa?" She asked. He opened his mouth, and then figured that it might be easier to draw a picture.
"Do you have a pen and paper?" He asked, motioning for a quill and ink. She nodded and reached in her bag for her ink and quill, and some paper. He shrugged himself off of the couch and began to sketch a picture of the islands.
"Large one is Kadessa, here is Raynak, the…" He paused, wondering what the English word was.
"Capital?" She asked. He looked at her.
"What is 'capital'?" He asked. She thought for a minute. She wished she had a map.
"I guess you could say it's the main city." She explained. Joseph nodded.
"Ah. This is the capital." He stated, pointing to Raynak again.
"I was born here. My… brother, he came with us. He was born here." He began. She nodded.
"Where is your brother now?" She asked. Joseph sighed, and shook his head sadly.
"Dead. He is buried outside."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know."
"Iye, Iye prosit (no problem) Mayfil is here, the capital is 'Torde'." He continued, drawing a smaller island to the southeast of Kadessa.
"Torde?" She asked, wanting to ensure she was pronouncing it right. Thinking that she wanted to know what it meant, Joseph made a motion of slicing his neck, something that Severus would do to indicate death. She gasped, and her eyes widened.
"They kill everything. They hate all. If they come here, Sheeva and I will fight them. We will protect you humans." He explained, a dark glimmer in his eye. It made Amanda shiver. He looked at her, noticing her frightened expression.
"Do not worry. I will protect you." He smiled. She blushed, and smiled back at him.
He sketched an oblong-shaped island to the west of Kadessa, then drew a few smaller islands around it, connected with lines to show that they were a collective of one.
"Pacem. They are... Hmm… well, they are peaceful. The capital is Shizu-koynyy." He tried to think of a way to describe them. Sure, they were smart, but there were smart Kadessians, Mayfilians, and Pyuritans, as well. People of Pacem could move stuff with their brains, and read minds, it seemed.
"Wait, how do you pronounce that?" She asked. He stopped, and smiled.
"Shi-zu-koi-nee-yeh. It is difficult?" He asked, smirking a little. She blushed and pouted.
"You just said it fast, that's all!" She stated defiantly. He smiled and shook his head. He drew another island to the northwest of Kadessa.
"Here is Vellweb. The capital is Polvolet. Mountains… fly here. All Sferrans have wings. Their females may use their wings. They wonder if humans fly. Sheeva said, you have… planes?" He asked. Amanda nodded.
"Yeah, though how they work is beyond me. You said that they have wings? Do you have wings too?" She asked. He looked around, then leaned in close. She leaned in, too, wondering if he was going to tell her a secret. He nodded.
She squealed with excitement and jumped up and down on the couch.
"That is so cool! Show me! Won't you show me, please?" She begged. He gave a nervous chuckle and shushed her, looking around nervously.
"Keep voice down. Sheeva will kill me." He pleaded. She covered her mouth and nodded furiously. He sighed, and went back to the paper.
"Last is Pyurita. The capital is Virn'nost. They are farmers." He explained, drawing a fairly large island in the space beneath Kadessa.
"Is there anything to the northeast? Or is it just the five islands you have here? Is Kadessa really an island? It looks more like a continent to me." She asked, picking up the paper and studying it.
Joseph shook his head.
"We have not traveled that far." He stated. He scribbled what looked like a cloud around the five islands.
"There is fog. Nothing comes in, nothing goes out."
"Wow, you haven't been out there?" She asked. Slowly, Joseph shook his head, and sighed.
She smiled, and rested her head in his lap.
"I'm sorry you're the only one here. Must be lonely." She stated.
"Iye, I am not alone. I have friends here. The captain helps me." He replied, unsure of what to do. Finally, he settled with leaning on his arm on the side of the couch and lightly draping one hand over her shoulder.
They lied in silence for a long while, Joseph's thoughts trailing back to Kadessa, and found himself wondering how his family was doing. Amanda's question of what lied beyond the fog made him wonder, of course, and as he mused upon it, he imagined that there might be gigantic monsters or even the end of the world. That if they were to sail in that direction, the ship would just fall right over the edge. It was an unsettling thought that made his stomach churn.
What if the fog just goes on and on, into eternity? He questioned. That thought alone was more comforting than a sheer-drop off into… into what, nothingness? Or… would it lead to the sky that he'd often wondered about exploring?
He turned his head as the commons door opened, and in stepped Severus and Kathryn. He smiled, then remembered Amanda was resting in his lap. He turned to her, surprised to see that she was sound asleep. How long had he been lost in his thoughts?
He held up a finger to his lips to motion for them to be silent. As Kathryn looked, she smiled. The insomniac Slytherin that reminded her much of herself was curled up against Joseph's lap. A relief, since Amanda had confessed that she'd really liked Joseph.
"Take care of her, Joseph." She stated, before disappearing into Severus's room.
"Mm-hmm." He agreed. He leaned back on the couch, and rested his head on the back of it to close his eyes and attempt to get some sleep.