I reached the sturdy farm door and considered my options. I could just bang
on the door to get them to open it, or pretend to be a beggar. There goes
being honest. What did I want from these people? Money, food, clothes, a
roof for the night. And the best way to gain this was to play on their
sympathy.
I lowered my self to the doorstep, and tried a tentative knock, then one a little bit louder. "Hello?" I called out in a wavering voice, one that would probably be heard. I tried another knock, then covered my hands with my face and burst into tears. I added a few wails, and when no one came, I increased their volume . . . . and then, voila! The door opened inward.
I lifted my tear-streaked head, ready for a farmwife with whose feelings I could play on. I gave another sniff, then delicately wiped my eyes of water. My mouth shaped with words for a well-placed plea -
And I stared into the face of a boy a few years older then me.
"Oh!" I said, covering my mouth. I winced, as I sounded like the damsel in distress I was playing. Then I color washed my face as I realized what the boy was seeing; what would look like a poor lost girl to a farmwife would probably look like an obnoxious whore to the boy.
"Who are you?" the boy said, brown eyes staring down at me. He had a stern look about him, with sandy blond hair falling into his eyes.
"Uh . . ." I said intelligently, staring at the boy. He frowned at me, his head tilted slightly.
"Have you business here?" he demanded, and I did not know how to answer. For one of the first times in my life, I was completely speechless.
"Then be off with you, girl, if you've no reason to be here." He ran a disapproving eye over me. "And buy yourself some decent clothes." He made as if to shut the door in my face.
"Who's there, Aiven?" a female voice called. A young woman dressed in a blue homespun dress appeared a babe cradled at her breast. Her sandy hair was worn up in a high bun with many hairs escaping, and her sharp brown eyes did a quick once over of me. Her eyes softened immediately, as I had hoped a farmwife's would. (Though she was considerably younger then the one I'd imagined.) "Oh let her in," Aiven's sister commanded, for she could be no one else with their looks so close. Aiven reluctantly obeyed.
The three of us stood there in the hallway, the two of then looking at me, and I staring at the floor. The young woman then looked back at Aiven. "Why are you still lingering here, brother? There is no reason. Be off with you." With her free hand she took my arm and led me away, unknowing that she had echoed Aiven earlier words.
She led me through a narrow hallway, and up a flight of stairs. At the top she opened a door and walked in. It was a bedroom; there was a two- person bed, a cradle, a dresser and a mirror. The woman pushed me onto the bed, lowered the babe into the cradle, and went to the dresser.
"Here," she said, tossing a few garmets at me. "Put these on and let me have a look at you." I did as told, pulling on the light green woolen dress, and white stockings. The dress was too long and loose in the middle, but it if well enough. Aiven's sister looked critically at me, then gave a brief nod. "Good," she said, and sat on the dresser.
"Thank you," I said sincerely. "If it is not too much to ask, may I have a bite to eat? Then I'll be on my way . . ."
"Nonsense," she said briskly. "You'll stay here tonight, and not leave the house til you've had a good wash."
"Yes ma'am,' I said meekly, but I felt triumphant inside. "I'm called Damslae."
"And I'm Kiyra. Now, what happened to you?"
All my triumph drained away. I swallowed quickly, then spun out a lie. "I am from Yvonhe. My family . . . they were killed. In a fire." I swallowed hard and looked away. "I was gone from home at the time - the only one. The house was - was burned to the ground. I have no other relatives in Yvonhe." I turned and looked her in the eyes. "I have relatives in Siata, though, and I am traveling there. "I glanced ruefully down at my clothes. "Unfortunately, all my worldly possessions are what I had on at the time of the fire." I gave a helpless little half shrug, and met her eyes again. "So here I am." Kiyra stared down at me for a long moment, but her eyes were unseeing. The brown iris seemed to spin, though when I blinking it stopped. She shook her head slowly, very slowly, then seemed to see me again.
"That is a lie," she said, her brown eyes piercing my golden ones. "A lie."
I stared, disbelieving, at her. "What?" I asked. A lie? And how would she know?
"Aye," she said. "Now tell me the truth."
I stared at her, my mind drawing a blank. I opened my mouth to protest her words, then closed it. Her eyes were sharp as a hawks. She would sense whatever I told her as truth or lie. I sucked in a breath.
"My parents are dead." She watched me, weighing my words. I closed my eyes. "They've always been dead. Or if they're alive, I've never met them. I was raised in the gutters." Though my eyes were closed, I could sense Kiyra nodding. I continued, "I had a good life. Good pickings, off the nobles. I was a thief, a sometimes assassin." I opened my eyes to see how she'd react. She didn't - just kept staring. I glanced away, uncomfortable. This was harder then I thought, and those eyes didn't help either.
"I'm beautiful," I said, but there was no vanity in those words. "A man - a powerful one - wanted me. I refused him." I stared at my feet, wondering why I felt so compelled to go on.
"His father said - said if his son couldn't have me, no one could. Had some men take me to the border. They -" I swallowed, my throat dry. "They left me there."
"Ah," she said, and nothing else.
"And I wandered through the woods til I came here." I shrugged. "That's all." I felt like I would cry, but I choked back the tears. I didn't cry. I never cried.
"Here," the young woman said in a gentle voice, "Follow me and I'll bring you to the bathing house." I followed downstairs and outside to the bathing pool.
* * *
It felt incredibly wonderful just to relax in my bath, letting the grime and dirt wash away. Letting everything wash away. I closed my eyes, and before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.
It was darker when I woke, the water cold, the air chilly. This family was rich indeed to have their own pool house. I took a gray towel, then redressed in the clothes Kiyra had given me. I walked back to the house, pausing a moment to stare up at the clear summer sky. Not one cloud obscured my view as I watched the heavens.
"What am I to do?" I whispered softly. The stars gave me no answers. People said there were pictures in the sky, but I never saw them. I sighed once, then entered the house.
Dinner was a lively affair. The household was Kiyra's, as her parents were dead, and along with her husband and children, she had five younger siblings to care for. Except for Kiyra, I was politely ignored, though sometimes I would catch Aiven watching me when he thought I wasn't looking. His brown eyes were masked, hiding his thoughts. Only once did I meet his eyes, and instead of flushing and turning away, he only nodded gravely and returned to his food.
Kiyra insisted I stay with them, even though I would have left the next day. "We cannot just send you off," she protested. Stay til the Day of Roses. It is only two weeks off. My brother Aiven then is leaving journey to Bast; he can accompany you on your way, until you reach Polan." I had told her of my wish to see that great city. Though I nodded in acquiescence and asked no questions, I was curious to why a farm boy would be traveling so far from his home.
The next two weeks parted in a blur. The Day of Roses was being prepared for, of course, the day when the Lady had walked on Earth, creating life on the barren planet and as she roamed, roses grew in her footprints, representing life - the beauty and pain of it.
Aiven spoke only when he had to speak to me, which annoyed me more then a little. Of all the men, he was the only I could bear, and yet he wanted nothing to do with me. When any other man came near me, I shied away like a frightened filly, the memory of the soldiers overwhelming me. But I felt no threat from Aiven.
Only once did he speak to me other then when he had to. It had been raining that day, a sudden thunderstorm as we worked in silence in the barn. The animals had gone crazy, and it had taken the two of us a long time to settle them. We had finally accomplished that, and had sat in an uncomfortable silence, trapped away from the house. I tried to speak several times, but his responses to my questions were usually one worded. I eventually gave up, but several minutes later, as I sat playing with the straw, he lowered himself to a sitting position across from me and leaned close, eyes dark and serious.
"Beware the denizens of flame and air, for they are as callous and sadistic as they appear celestial and ethereal. The daughter of the Eternal Lah'nayin ought never consort with such kind, nor the hamadryad. Beware the mists of earth and water, for they are as deadly as the first. And beware the beauty of the Saint, for as the circle spins her time will come to bare another face, and if trust be placed in her hands, the Aevai'in will doubtless be caused." He lifted one hand to touch my cheek, light as a feather. "For the daughter of the Eternal Lah'nayin is the last hope, so let she be blessed by the stars that light her path."
I stared, dumbfounded, as he stood and walked to the barn door. He opened it, and I winced, ready for a cold blast of rain to blast into our shelter. But as he opened the door, the storm stopped, and Aiven walked out into the clear, water free air.
Aiven did not speak again of his words, and I somehow could not bring myself to ask of them, though they were all I really thought of. Who was the Eternal Lah'nayin? What was the Aevai'in? And what would a farm boy know of 'denizens of flame and air' and the 'mist of earth and water'? Were these his words, or had he quoted them from somewhere else? Who was the Saint? Why was the daughter the last hope? The last hope for what?
At last the Eve of the Day of Roses came. First the festival, and then the next day would be on the road with Aiven.
There would be no way he could escape my questions, then.
I lowered my self to the doorstep, and tried a tentative knock, then one a little bit louder. "Hello?" I called out in a wavering voice, one that would probably be heard. I tried another knock, then covered my hands with my face and burst into tears. I added a few wails, and when no one came, I increased their volume . . . . and then, voila! The door opened inward.
I lifted my tear-streaked head, ready for a farmwife with whose feelings I could play on. I gave another sniff, then delicately wiped my eyes of water. My mouth shaped with words for a well-placed plea -
And I stared into the face of a boy a few years older then me.
"Oh!" I said, covering my mouth. I winced, as I sounded like the damsel in distress I was playing. Then I color washed my face as I realized what the boy was seeing; what would look like a poor lost girl to a farmwife would probably look like an obnoxious whore to the boy.
"Who are you?" the boy said, brown eyes staring down at me. He had a stern look about him, with sandy blond hair falling into his eyes.
"Uh . . ." I said intelligently, staring at the boy. He frowned at me, his head tilted slightly.
"Have you business here?" he demanded, and I did not know how to answer. For one of the first times in my life, I was completely speechless.
"Then be off with you, girl, if you've no reason to be here." He ran a disapproving eye over me. "And buy yourself some decent clothes." He made as if to shut the door in my face.
"Who's there, Aiven?" a female voice called. A young woman dressed in a blue homespun dress appeared a babe cradled at her breast. Her sandy hair was worn up in a high bun with many hairs escaping, and her sharp brown eyes did a quick once over of me. Her eyes softened immediately, as I had hoped a farmwife's would. (Though she was considerably younger then the one I'd imagined.) "Oh let her in," Aiven's sister commanded, for she could be no one else with their looks so close. Aiven reluctantly obeyed.
The three of us stood there in the hallway, the two of then looking at me, and I staring at the floor. The young woman then looked back at Aiven. "Why are you still lingering here, brother? There is no reason. Be off with you." With her free hand she took my arm and led me away, unknowing that she had echoed Aiven earlier words.
She led me through a narrow hallway, and up a flight of stairs. At the top she opened a door and walked in. It was a bedroom; there was a two- person bed, a cradle, a dresser and a mirror. The woman pushed me onto the bed, lowered the babe into the cradle, and went to the dresser.
"Here," she said, tossing a few garmets at me. "Put these on and let me have a look at you." I did as told, pulling on the light green woolen dress, and white stockings. The dress was too long and loose in the middle, but it if well enough. Aiven's sister looked critically at me, then gave a brief nod. "Good," she said, and sat on the dresser.
"Thank you," I said sincerely. "If it is not too much to ask, may I have a bite to eat? Then I'll be on my way . . ."
"Nonsense," she said briskly. "You'll stay here tonight, and not leave the house til you've had a good wash."
"Yes ma'am,' I said meekly, but I felt triumphant inside. "I'm called Damslae."
"And I'm Kiyra. Now, what happened to you?"
All my triumph drained away. I swallowed quickly, then spun out a lie. "I am from Yvonhe. My family . . . they were killed. In a fire." I swallowed hard and looked away. "I was gone from home at the time - the only one. The house was - was burned to the ground. I have no other relatives in Yvonhe." I turned and looked her in the eyes. "I have relatives in Siata, though, and I am traveling there. "I glanced ruefully down at my clothes. "Unfortunately, all my worldly possessions are what I had on at the time of the fire." I gave a helpless little half shrug, and met her eyes again. "So here I am." Kiyra stared down at me for a long moment, but her eyes were unseeing. The brown iris seemed to spin, though when I blinking it stopped. She shook her head slowly, very slowly, then seemed to see me again.
"That is a lie," she said, her brown eyes piercing my golden ones. "A lie."
I stared, disbelieving, at her. "What?" I asked. A lie? And how would she know?
"Aye," she said. "Now tell me the truth."
I stared at her, my mind drawing a blank. I opened my mouth to protest her words, then closed it. Her eyes were sharp as a hawks. She would sense whatever I told her as truth or lie. I sucked in a breath.
"My parents are dead." She watched me, weighing my words. I closed my eyes. "They've always been dead. Or if they're alive, I've never met them. I was raised in the gutters." Though my eyes were closed, I could sense Kiyra nodding. I continued, "I had a good life. Good pickings, off the nobles. I was a thief, a sometimes assassin." I opened my eyes to see how she'd react. She didn't - just kept staring. I glanced away, uncomfortable. This was harder then I thought, and those eyes didn't help either.
"I'm beautiful," I said, but there was no vanity in those words. "A man - a powerful one - wanted me. I refused him." I stared at my feet, wondering why I felt so compelled to go on.
"His father said - said if his son couldn't have me, no one could. Had some men take me to the border. They -" I swallowed, my throat dry. "They left me there."
"Ah," she said, and nothing else.
"And I wandered through the woods til I came here." I shrugged. "That's all." I felt like I would cry, but I choked back the tears. I didn't cry. I never cried.
"Here," the young woman said in a gentle voice, "Follow me and I'll bring you to the bathing house." I followed downstairs and outside to the bathing pool.
* * *
It felt incredibly wonderful just to relax in my bath, letting the grime and dirt wash away. Letting everything wash away. I closed my eyes, and before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.
It was darker when I woke, the water cold, the air chilly. This family was rich indeed to have their own pool house. I took a gray towel, then redressed in the clothes Kiyra had given me. I walked back to the house, pausing a moment to stare up at the clear summer sky. Not one cloud obscured my view as I watched the heavens.
"What am I to do?" I whispered softly. The stars gave me no answers. People said there were pictures in the sky, but I never saw them. I sighed once, then entered the house.
Dinner was a lively affair. The household was Kiyra's, as her parents were dead, and along with her husband and children, she had five younger siblings to care for. Except for Kiyra, I was politely ignored, though sometimes I would catch Aiven watching me when he thought I wasn't looking. His brown eyes were masked, hiding his thoughts. Only once did I meet his eyes, and instead of flushing and turning away, he only nodded gravely and returned to his food.
Kiyra insisted I stay with them, even though I would have left the next day. "We cannot just send you off," she protested. Stay til the Day of Roses. It is only two weeks off. My brother Aiven then is leaving journey to Bast; he can accompany you on your way, until you reach Polan." I had told her of my wish to see that great city. Though I nodded in acquiescence and asked no questions, I was curious to why a farm boy would be traveling so far from his home.
The next two weeks parted in a blur. The Day of Roses was being prepared for, of course, the day when the Lady had walked on Earth, creating life on the barren planet and as she roamed, roses grew in her footprints, representing life - the beauty and pain of it.
Aiven spoke only when he had to speak to me, which annoyed me more then a little. Of all the men, he was the only I could bear, and yet he wanted nothing to do with me. When any other man came near me, I shied away like a frightened filly, the memory of the soldiers overwhelming me. But I felt no threat from Aiven.
Only once did he speak to me other then when he had to. It had been raining that day, a sudden thunderstorm as we worked in silence in the barn. The animals had gone crazy, and it had taken the two of us a long time to settle them. We had finally accomplished that, and had sat in an uncomfortable silence, trapped away from the house. I tried to speak several times, but his responses to my questions were usually one worded. I eventually gave up, but several minutes later, as I sat playing with the straw, he lowered himself to a sitting position across from me and leaned close, eyes dark and serious.
"Beware the denizens of flame and air, for they are as callous and sadistic as they appear celestial and ethereal. The daughter of the Eternal Lah'nayin ought never consort with such kind, nor the hamadryad. Beware the mists of earth and water, for they are as deadly as the first. And beware the beauty of the Saint, for as the circle spins her time will come to bare another face, and if trust be placed in her hands, the Aevai'in will doubtless be caused." He lifted one hand to touch my cheek, light as a feather. "For the daughter of the Eternal Lah'nayin is the last hope, so let she be blessed by the stars that light her path."
I stared, dumbfounded, as he stood and walked to the barn door. He opened it, and I winced, ready for a cold blast of rain to blast into our shelter. But as he opened the door, the storm stopped, and Aiven walked out into the clear, water free air.
Aiven did not speak again of his words, and I somehow could not bring myself to ask of them, though they were all I really thought of. Who was the Eternal Lah'nayin? What was the Aevai'in? And what would a farm boy know of 'denizens of flame and air' and the 'mist of earth and water'? Were these his words, or had he quoted them from somewhere else? Who was the Saint? Why was the daughter the last hope? The last hope for what?
At last the Eve of the Day of Roses came. First the festival, and then the next day would be on the road with Aiven.
There would be no way he could escape my questions, then.
