"...cannot promise her safety... ...understand the infant is... ...will be
reared by us. ...dare not shelter you... ...must go soon... ...I have no
choice."
Ael Flightson sat up with a start, to find himself on the floor in a twist of sheets. He swore and stood up. This was the fifth week in a row he had dreamed the same thing. He straightened his sheets, but rather than get back into bed he decided to take a walk outside.
Daughter Childkeeper would be angry if she found him, but he didn't really care at the moment. He was thirteen, after all - he was almost too big for the small dormitory beds in the Children's Quarter already.
He deftly swung out of the window and slid down the vine that crept up the thick stone wall of the Mother of Waters convent. As his bare feet silently hit the ground he wondered again about the dream. Daughter Childkeeper had told him, when he first mentioned the dreams, that it would probably be a memory of a conversation he had long forgotten, but this didn't feel like a memory. For one thing he hadn't seen it through his own eyes, unless he was floating three metres above the ground at the time, which was unlikely. Besides, he was certain he had seen First Daughter jian Cadao in it, and he had only met her once.
So if they weren't from a memory, what were they? Ael had already ruled out randomness - every night for over a month did not seem random. Suddenly he stumbled over a step - his feet had taken him to the Lower Gardens automatically, his favourite place.
He sat down on an ornamental bench. He knew that he was an orphan - he had been brought up by the Daughters, in a time when few orphans survived. He supposed he ought to be grateful for that. Zhir Anduo's rein, while tenuous at first, was at least an improvement upon the chaos which had gripped Sarain when jin Wilima ruled. Or so he was taught, at least.
But whenever he asked about his past, all he got was a lecture on the change-over. Nothing about himself, or where they got him from. All the other orphans in his dormitory would tell much-embroidered tales of being left on the doorstep by a dying mother, or snatched from the hands of a crazed K'mir who had murdered their entire family. The twins Siam and Rachel knew for a fact that the convent had been looking after them while their father fought in zhir Anduo's army, and stayed on when he died. Regudun's mother had been the sister of one of the daughters, but she and her husband died in an epidemic. Most of the other children were there to learn, or while their parents were away. Only the orphans were permanent.
Only Ael had no history. Vague talk of confusion and war were no help. Was his family killed by soldiers? Did his mother die in childbirth? Did he have any brothers or sisters? He asked the daughters again and again, but they wouldn't say anything. He didn't even have a proper name. All the others were jin something or jian something, but it seemed like nobody even knew who his family was. Flightson. What kind of name was that for a Sarenite? It sounded like a Tortallan name. He had once entertained the notion that he was actually from Tortall, but one glance in the mirror disillusioned him - nope, he was Saren all right.
Suddenly Ael sensed someone coming down the path. He hesitated a moment and hid behind the bench. Whoever it was probably had about as much right to be here as he did, but he wanted to take no chances. He concentrated on being invisible, but nearly gave himself away by an intake of breath when he saw who it was...
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A/N: So what do you think of the start? Please review. The chapters won't all be this short, but I'm just starting. I have this itch for character development - I always wonder about the minor characters, their history, their background, and what happens to them after. There are an awful lot of them in the Tortall books. If you've read the entire Alana quartet, and you are attentive, you'll have figured out who Ael is. If you haven't you're probably one of those people who concentrate on the plot and the main character, or at least people with names, and you'll just have to wait and see to find out.
Ael Flightson sat up with a start, to find himself on the floor in a twist of sheets. He swore and stood up. This was the fifth week in a row he had dreamed the same thing. He straightened his sheets, but rather than get back into bed he decided to take a walk outside.
Daughter Childkeeper would be angry if she found him, but he didn't really care at the moment. He was thirteen, after all - he was almost too big for the small dormitory beds in the Children's Quarter already.
He deftly swung out of the window and slid down the vine that crept up the thick stone wall of the Mother of Waters convent. As his bare feet silently hit the ground he wondered again about the dream. Daughter Childkeeper had told him, when he first mentioned the dreams, that it would probably be a memory of a conversation he had long forgotten, but this didn't feel like a memory. For one thing he hadn't seen it through his own eyes, unless he was floating three metres above the ground at the time, which was unlikely. Besides, he was certain he had seen First Daughter jian Cadao in it, and he had only met her once.
So if they weren't from a memory, what were they? Ael had already ruled out randomness - every night for over a month did not seem random. Suddenly he stumbled over a step - his feet had taken him to the Lower Gardens automatically, his favourite place.
He sat down on an ornamental bench. He knew that he was an orphan - he had been brought up by the Daughters, in a time when few orphans survived. He supposed he ought to be grateful for that. Zhir Anduo's rein, while tenuous at first, was at least an improvement upon the chaos which had gripped Sarain when jin Wilima ruled. Or so he was taught, at least.
But whenever he asked about his past, all he got was a lecture on the change-over. Nothing about himself, or where they got him from. All the other orphans in his dormitory would tell much-embroidered tales of being left on the doorstep by a dying mother, or snatched from the hands of a crazed K'mir who had murdered their entire family. The twins Siam and Rachel knew for a fact that the convent had been looking after them while their father fought in zhir Anduo's army, and stayed on when he died. Regudun's mother had been the sister of one of the daughters, but she and her husband died in an epidemic. Most of the other children were there to learn, or while their parents were away. Only the orphans were permanent.
Only Ael had no history. Vague talk of confusion and war were no help. Was his family killed by soldiers? Did his mother die in childbirth? Did he have any brothers or sisters? He asked the daughters again and again, but they wouldn't say anything. He didn't even have a proper name. All the others were jin something or jian something, but it seemed like nobody even knew who his family was. Flightson. What kind of name was that for a Sarenite? It sounded like a Tortallan name. He had once entertained the notion that he was actually from Tortall, but one glance in the mirror disillusioned him - nope, he was Saren all right.
Suddenly Ael sensed someone coming down the path. He hesitated a moment and hid behind the bench. Whoever it was probably had about as much right to be here as he did, but he wanted to take no chances. He concentrated on being invisible, but nearly gave himself away by an intake of breath when he saw who it was...
************************************************************************
A/N: So what do you think of the start? Please review. The chapters won't all be this short, but I'm just starting. I have this itch for character development - I always wonder about the minor characters, their history, their background, and what happens to them after. There are an awful lot of them in the Tortall books. If you've read the entire Alana quartet, and you are attentive, you'll have figured out who Ael is. If you haven't you're probably one of those people who concentrate on the plot and the main character, or at least people with names, and you'll just have to wait and see to find out.