Chapter V
One the first day of their journey together Jahandri asked Klaudya where she had come from and why she had been staying in an old and abandoned barn.
"I had nowhere else ta stay."
"What about your family?"
"I ain't got no family. They all died in a fire a while back. When I was seven. Can't hardly remember them now. All I remember is my Ma had sent me inta town ta buy somethin. When I got back the house was on fire n' they was all dead."
Jahandri felt sorry for the girl but she could not think of anything to say. She had never met her father and had just recently met her mother. Her family problems were almost as bad as Klaudya's.
They traveled on together for a while, stopping every so often to rest and going into random towns to buy food with the money Geshri had given to Jahandri. After giving Klaudya some decent clothes Jahandri always sent her into the towns for fear that either Yujri's spies or those of Ithrán were looking for her. Jahandri had told Klaudya about Yujri and why he was looking for her but she had not gotten around to explaining about Geshri, Ithrán and Marí yet. She did not know if she ever would get around to it. Klaudya did not need to know that they were not only being pursued by some of the best spies in the world but also a god. Jahandri had grown to like the girl and did not want Klaudya abandoning her out of fear. Geshri said that the stone would protect her from Ithrán and the god did not know that Klaudya had met up with Jahandri so she figured that Klaudya was safe.
After a week of traveling it was time to stop for food again. As usual Jahandri started to set up a place for them to sleep, it was getting colder and they had invested some of their food money into a small tent to protect them from the biting winds. Klaudya stood up to get the money to go into town and sighed thinking about the long walk ahead of her.
Klaudya was getting tired of having to go into town every time they needed food. She thought that Jahandri should have to make the twenty-minute walk into town for once. Jahandri road the horse everywhere that they went and she had to walk. After thinking it over, Klaudya decided that enough was enough and Jahandri should take her turn going into town. She was not Jahandri's slave and they were supposed to be friends.
With that in mind Klaudya put the coins back into their purse with a 'clink' and sat down on a nearby stump. She watched Jahandri struggle with the tent and it took her five minutes to realize that Klaudya had not left for town yet, "Klaudya? Are you waiting for something? Why haven't you left yet?"
"I think ya should take yir turn goin' inta town today. I'm too tired from walkin' all day ta go. 'Sides, I ain't yir slave."
Jahandri stared at Klaudya with a confused look, "But we had decided that I would set up the tent every night and you would go into town every so often when we needed food."
"We didn't decide nothing. You decided. I ain't yir slave, missy. Git over yirself n' go inta town fir once."
'What could it hurt,' thought Jahandri, 'I'll just hide myself inside my cloak.' "Fine, I will go into town, but I'm taking Draana."
"Fine."
Jahandri stood up and headed over to the horse, "Let's go girl."
Once they were out of Klaudya's earshot Draana started talking, "If your mother knew that you were going into town she would be fearful."
"That's why we are not going to tell her anything."
The rest of the way into town Draana did not utter a word. When Jahandri got near town she settled the horse near a tree on the outskirts and pulled her cloak over her white hair. When she felt the cloak was completely in place she headed into town keeping her head facing the ground. She went about her shopping, placing all the food she bought in a basket hanging from her arm.
It took about forty minutes for Jahandri to find all the food she needed. On her way back to find Draana a man from behind a cart called out to her, "Pretty lass, who art thou? You are not from around here. Do you need directions, a place to stay? I have a proper bed with a soft pillow you may lay your pretty little head on."
Jahandri answered him "Ah, good sir. I would love to stay and talk, but I must hurry back. My fiancé awaits me and I must travel to him."
The man played with the stone that hung from his neck. He looked somehow out of place in the town. His spiky black hair was unnaturally short; most of the townsmen had long hair pulled into a horsetail. His eyes were also rather odd. They were a dark shade of green with hints of blue in them. The robes that he wore were of a much finer quality than those of the rest of the townspeople. He had cotton breeches and a satin shirt. "Ah, too bad you will not stay with me, I have information that you may find interesting. Information about the gods, that is"
Jahandri hurried over to the cart, "What makes you think I care about your so-called information about the gods."
"I can see things. I know about you... and I know about your mother."
"What do you know about my mother?"
"I don't know if I should tell you, I mean it is a long story and you seem to be in such a hurry so-"
"Tell me what you think you know now!"
"All right, my dear. Don't be so hasty. I'll tell you everything, in good time. Right now I have to finish selling my wares. If you'll excuse me, SCARVES! GET YOUR QUALITY, SILK SCARVES HERE!"
Jahandri reached out and grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him out of the street, "Tell me what you know."
"Okay, okay, just let go of me. I'll tell you if you inform me where you are going in such a hurry."
"I am going to my wedding. I already told you. My husband is from Q'Rhaz and we are getting married there."
"Okay my dear, and now from my little bit of information. I saw you and another girl, she had darker features than yours but looked about the same age, in one of my dreams, that's how I knew this message was for you. Later that night I was awoken by a whispering voice. The voice was soft but somehow it seemed to roar in my ears. When I opened my eyes there was a woman standing in front of me. She had hair the color of black ink unnatural aqua colored eyes, much like yours.
"She told me that she had a message for her daughter, a girl who would come into town in the next few days. I wondered why she couldn't wait and tell you herself but I didn't ask. She also mentioned that I had already seen her in a dream earlier that night. The woman told me to tell you that your uncle had began to look in the south and he was having her followed. She also said to make sure that you concealed your identity from everyone and not tell a single person who you really are.
"Then she left, not through the door or anything, she just disappeared. That's why I figured she had to be a goddess. I can't explain the message anymore than that, it seemed a bit vague to me but perhaps you understand it."
"Yes, yes I do. Thank you so much for telling me this. I know you may not understand I cannot tell you anymore but thank you!"
"Aren't you in a hurry to be somewhere?"
"Yes actually, but thank you!" Jahandri hurried off toward Draana leaving the peculiar man at his cart.
The man smiled and snapped his fingers. Suddenly the helpful man disappeared and in his place Ithrán stood with a smirk firmly planted on his face. "That was almost too easy," he stated as he strode
When Jahandri got back to where the tent had been set up she found Klaudya inside and asleep. Jahandri quietly tethered Draana to a tree; she knew that the horse would not try to escape, rather she feared thieves looking for another horse. She grabbed the food basket off the horse and slipped inside the tent. Jahandri thought whether or not to wake Klaudya while she broke off a piece of bread. Deciding against it she grabbed an apple and quietly chewed it. The bread tasted like stale sawdust that crumbled in her mouth and the apple was covered in bruises.
Jahandri thought about the man who had told her about her mother. It was a warning but why was it so important that Geshri had come to a random man in a random town and told him? Why did the man even care where she was going? Jahandri sighed and slipped down onto the cold, hard ground and pulled a blanket up and over her.
One the first day of their journey together Jahandri asked Klaudya where she had come from and why she had been staying in an old and abandoned barn.
"I had nowhere else ta stay."
"What about your family?"
"I ain't got no family. They all died in a fire a while back. When I was seven. Can't hardly remember them now. All I remember is my Ma had sent me inta town ta buy somethin. When I got back the house was on fire n' they was all dead."
Jahandri felt sorry for the girl but she could not think of anything to say. She had never met her father and had just recently met her mother. Her family problems were almost as bad as Klaudya's.
They traveled on together for a while, stopping every so often to rest and going into random towns to buy food with the money Geshri had given to Jahandri. After giving Klaudya some decent clothes Jahandri always sent her into the towns for fear that either Yujri's spies or those of Ithrán were looking for her. Jahandri had told Klaudya about Yujri and why he was looking for her but she had not gotten around to explaining about Geshri, Ithrán and Marí yet. She did not know if she ever would get around to it. Klaudya did not need to know that they were not only being pursued by some of the best spies in the world but also a god. Jahandri had grown to like the girl and did not want Klaudya abandoning her out of fear. Geshri said that the stone would protect her from Ithrán and the god did not know that Klaudya had met up with Jahandri so she figured that Klaudya was safe.
After a week of traveling it was time to stop for food again. As usual Jahandri started to set up a place for them to sleep, it was getting colder and they had invested some of their food money into a small tent to protect them from the biting winds. Klaudya stood up to get the money to go into town and sighed thinking about the long walk ahead of her.
Klaudya was getting tired of having to go into town every time they needed food. She thought that Jahandri should have to make the twenty-minute walk into town for once. Jahandri road the horse everywhere that they went and she had to walk. After thinking it over, Klaudya decided that enough was enough and Jahandri should take her turn going into town. She was not Jahandri's slave and they were supposed to be friends.
With that in mind Klaudya put the coins back into their purse with a 'clink' and sat down on a nearby stump. She watched Jahandri struggle with the tent and it took her five minutes to realize that Klaudya had not left for town yet, "Klaudya? Are you waiting for something? Why haven't you left yet?"
"I think ya should take yir turn goin' inta town today. I'm too tired from walkin' all day ta go. 'Sides, I ain't yir slave."
Jahandri stared at Klaudya with a confused look, "But we had decided that I would set up the tent every night and you would go into town every so often when we needed food."
"We didn't decide nothing. You decided. I ain't yir slave, missy. Git over yirself n' go inta town fir once."
'What could it hurt,' thought Jahandri, 'I'll just hide myself inside my cloak.' "Fine, I will go into town, but I'm taking Draana."
"Fine."
Jahandri stood up and headed over to the horse, "Let's go girl."
Once they were out of Klaudya's earshot Draana started talking, "If your mother knew that you were going into town she would be fearful."
"That's why we are not going to tell her anything."
The rest of the way into town Draana did not utter a word. When Jahandri got near town she settled the horse near a tree on the outskirts and pulled her cloak over her white hair. When she felt the cloak was completely in place she headed into town keeping her head facing the ground. She went about her shopping, placing all the food she bought in a basket hanging from her arm.
It took about forty minutes for Jahandri to find all the food she needed. On her way back to find Draana a man from behind a cart called out to her, "Pretty lass, who art thou? You are not from around here. Do you need directions, a place to stay? I have a proper bed with a soft pillow you may lay your pretty little head on."
Jahandri answered him "Ah, good sir. I would love to stay and talk, but I must hurry back. My fiancé awaits me and I must travel to him."
The man played with the stone that hung from his neck. He looked somehow out of place in the town. His spiky black hair was unnaturally short; most of the townsmen had long hair pulled into a horsetail. His eyes were also rather odd. They were a dark shade of green with hints of blue in them. The robes that he wore were of a much finer quality than those of the rest of the townspeople. He had cotton breeches and a satin shirt. "Ah, too bad you will not stay with me, I have information that you may find interesting. Information about the gods, that is"
Jahandri hurried over to the cart, "What makes you think I care about your so-called information about the gods."
"I can see things. I know about you... and I know about your mother."
"What do you know about my mother?"
"I don't know if I should tell you, I mean it is a long story and you seem to be in such a hurry so-"
"Tell me what you think you know now!"
"All right, my dear. Don't be so hasty. I'll tell you everything, in good time. Right now I have to finish selling my wares. If you'll excuse me, SCARVES! GET YOUR QUALITY, SILK SCARVES HERE!"
Jahandri reached out and grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him out of the street, "Tell me what you know."
"Okay, okay, just let go of me. I'll tell you if you inform me where you are going in such a hurry."
"I am going to my wedding. I already told you. My husband is from Q'Rhaz and we are getting married there."
"Okay my dear, and now from my little bit of information. I saw you and another girl, she had darker features than yours but looked about the same age, in one of my dreams, that's how I knew this message was for you. Later that night I was awoken by a whispering voice. The voice was soft but somehow it seemed to roar in my ears. When I opened my eyes there was a woman standing in front of me. She had hair the color of black ink unnatural aqua colored eyes, much like yours.
"She told me that she had a message for her daughter, a girl who would come into town in the next few days. I wondered why she couldn't wait and tell you herself but I didn't ask. She also mentioned that I had already seen her in a dream earlier that night. The woman told me to tell you that your uncle had began to look in the south and he was having her followed. She also said to make sure that you concealed your identity from everyone and not tell a single person who you really are.
"Then she left, not through the door or anything, she just disappeared. That's why I figured she had to be a goddess. I can't explain the message anymore than that, it seemed a bit vague to me but perhaps you understand it."
"Yes, yes I do. Thank you so much for telling me this. I know you may not understand I cannot tell you anymore but thank you!"
"Aren't you in a hurry to be somewhere?"
"Yes actually, but thank you!" Jahandri hurried off toward Draana leaving the peculiar man at his cart.
The man smiled and snapped his fingers. Suddenly the helpful man disappeared and in his place Ithrán stood with a smirk firmly planted on his face. "That was almost too easy," he stated as he strode
When Jahandri got back to where the tent had been set up she found Klaudya inside and asleep. Jahandri quietly tethered Draana to a tree; she knew that the horse would not try to escape, rather she feared thieves looking for another horse. She grabbed the food basket off the horse and slipped inside the tent. Jahandri thought whether or not to wake Klaudya while she broke off a piece of bread. Deciding against it she grabbed an apple and quietly chewed it. The bread tasted like stale sawdust that crumbled in her mouth and the apple was covered in bruises.
Jahandri thought about the man who had told her about her mother. It was a warning but why was it so important that Geshri had come to a random man in a random town and told him? Why did the man even care where she was going? Jahandri sighed and slipped down onto the cold, hard ground and pulled a blanket up and over her.