One-shot. I've had this story in mind for quite sometime and I just had to get it out! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: The characters and places in the story belong to Tamora Pierce. But the plot, that's mine :)
Bernerd Connorsra jumped slightly upon feeling the ground beneath him shake. After further investigation, however, he found that it was just his horse beneath him, shaking piles of snowflakes out of his mane. Bernerd mimicked his steed sending white powder cascading from his graying hair and beard, and then dug impatiently into his saddle bag. When he withdrew his gloved hand, it held a small vile of liquid, which he promptly opened and held under his nose.
Had he been a lighthearted man, he might have laughed. If one of his students had seen him at such a moment, asleep at the saddle, he would have never heard the end of it. How many times had he bellowed to a trainee that a Shang warrior had no need for sleep while on the road? He may not have been as young as he once was, but there was no excuse for falling asleep on horseback, especially while it was snowing!
Now wide awake, he realized that it must have been snowing for quite some time. His horse was trudging through almost a hand's width of powder. There was Galla for you. One moment it was bright and sunny, and the next, you wake up covered in snow. Not for the first time, Bernerd was thankful that he had avoided spending his entire life here. Had the Shang Ox not discovered his ability that cold winter day over fifty years ago, he might have lived and died in a small village, never seeing the world. Now he was going back home to do the same for another young Gallan.
The snow-covered road in front of him was beginning to slope slightly and the forests on either side were thinning. He was almost home. It was a good thing too, judging by the sun, it would soon be night. The warrior kicked his horse into a trot.
Bernerd was just starting to worry that he wouldn't reach town before dark, when he smelled the sweet odor of smoke. Smoke meant fire, and fire meant people. People meant a village. Around a bend in the road, he finally saw it: Snowsdale. The small village had remained exactly as he left it.
Bernerd sat straight in his saddle and dusted snow off the folds of his cloak, being sure to carefully brush the white off the patch on his left collar bone. It was a green and blue globe with a white snow fox lying smugly on top. The patch was his right to wear as a full and tested Shang warrior. He might be old, but he still had his pride.
As he rode through town, men and women returning home from hunting or from their farmland scampered to the sides of the roads, letting him pass. He ignored the looks of awe and envy that were directed at him, instead lost in memories. He couldn't help but let a small tear escape him when he passed by his old home. Another family now lived in the small house; all but one of his relatives were gone and it was this last one that the Shang Fox was now destined to see.
Soon enough he left the town behind and turned down a small path just beyond it, coming upon a snug house in a valley. On a rocking chair by the front porch sat an old man. He stood when the Shang warrior dismounted.
"Bernerd." He said simply, his face twisting in a half grin.
"Jack. It's been a while," he replied straight faced.
"Too long cousin." Jack replied and they embraced each other. "I see you received my letter?"
"Aye," Bernerd replied stepping back to look at his cousin. It was hard to believe that they were once young boys together, inseparable playmates and friends. The man in front of him was old. They were the exact same age, but Jack was wrinkled and frail. He seemed weathered, as if he had lived through a blizzard and then some. Only his cousin's sparkling blue eyes remained testament to the boy he once knew.
"Come inside, come, come, we have much to talk about. Letters only say so much."
"Grandda, Grandda!" A tiny voice cried.
A small girl, no older than five appeared at the top of a hill, charging at Jack, a mischievous smile pasted onto her delicate face. Behind her, an even smaller puppy rushed to keep up with her. Brown curls streamed behind her like a kite and her cheeks were rose colored with the cold. She struggled to run through the snow in boots that were much too big for her. She crashed into Jack's leg.
"Is this the girl?" Bernerd asked, his sharp eyes looking her over.
"Yes, this is my granddaughter, Sarra's daughter, Veralidaine. Daine for short. Daine, this is Bernerd Connorsra, the Shang Fox. He is my cousin and a very good friend of mine. He'll be staying the night with us."
Daine flashed a tiny smile at him and dipped into a clumsy curtsey. "Nice to meet you Mr. Fox!" She said in a well-rehearsed voice.
Bernerd coughed to cover a smile. "Why don't we go inside?"
Later that night, Jack and Bernerd sat contently by the fire. Little Daine lay fast asleep with her puppy on a rug close to the hearth.
Bernerd sighed wearily. He lived his life on the road, but times like these, when he felt at home, he treasured most of all. "You and Sarra have a right fine home here Jack." Bernerd mumbled more to himself than to his cousin. "Speaking of the lass, where is your daughter?"
Jack looked down at his hands, as if suddenly noticing them lying on his lap. "She's spending the week at a neighbor's home. They have a baby that's due any day now."
The Fox shook his head. "That's why you wanted me here this week, to make it easier." It wasn't a question, just a statement of understanding.
"She doesn't understand. I tried to talk to her it about her a year or so ago, but she refused to even listen." Jack said, his eyes clouded, "She doesn't know what it will be like when Daine gets older. Even now, hardly five, she knows she's different. Parents in the village won't let their daughters play with her! She has no friends, none but that puppy of hers, Mammoth, and her pony Cloud!" He ran his fingers through his crispy grey hair. "Just the other day she asked me, 'Grandda, why does everybody get a' whispering when Ma and I walk by?' I didn't have the heart to tell her, she wouldn't even know what any of it means." He broke off and looked away.
Down on the rug, Daine rolled over, mumbling softly, lost in the world of the Dream King. Jack steeled himself and continued, his voice elevated, "The fact of the matter is that her Ma met some fella on Beltane, got pregnant, and never heard from him again. It's all in the name. As beautiful as 'Veralidaine' is, no one's gonna see past 'Sarrasri'. There's no future for her here in Snowsdale. I don't want to give her up, but I want her to make something of her life."
The Fox nodded, and looked over at the sleeping girl, now letting his well-trained eye look for any trait hinting that the girl might make it through hard years of training. Her chin was strong, her nose unbroken, though if she were to train with the Shang that wouldn't last long. Her arms were already building muscle, probably from helping her Grandda at chores. She was just the age that he preferred new trainees to be. Not so young that they needed to be babied, but not too old that they thought they knew everything and weren't eager to learn.
"Any Gift?" he asked, getting down to business.
"Not a drop. Sarra's tested her again and again, hoping to find a bit of her power in Daine, but she's found nothin'."
"Any physical or mental problems that I should know about?"
His cousin shook his head. "A bit clumsy, but she'll grow out of that."
"How would she handle leaving everything she's ever known: her Ma, Grandda, even that puppy?"
Jack hesitated, his eyes wet. "Well enough. She's a strong girl."
The Fox stood up and knelt by the sleeping girl, shaking her awake. She stood up with a yawn, eyes squinting in the dim light. "Are you up?" he asked her sternly.
"Oh yes sir, Mr. Fox, I'm awake." She said, squaring her shoulders.
"I need you to show me how well you can do a few things, then you can go back to sleep." He ran her through some of the most basic exercises that trainees learned. She struggled at first, confused at some of the things he was asking her to do, ('Why do ya want me to hold myself like a four-legger and push down the ground?) but she did well enough.
When Daine was tucked snug into her bed upstairs, Bernerd sat back down next to his cousin. He rubbed his stiff knee thoughtfully. Finally, he nodded.
"She'll do. We'll leave the morning after tomorrow."
Jack nodded weakly, a tear escaping his eye. "I'll send for Sarra."
This is my first one-shot. Maybe someday I'll write more, but as of now I have to finish my other stories: Shadows See All and Raka Revenge (which I've been neglecting…). There seemed to be so many Alanna and/or Kel go to the Shang stories out there, but based on the rules of Shang 'recruitment' from the books, that isn't a likely situation since both women would be too old and are noble, not to mention Alanna's Gift. Everyone seems to forget the somewhat quieter Tortallan hero, Daine. I was thinking about it, and she's the only one who could go to the Shang, and she even has a pretty good reason to get away from home. The result is this story. Let me know what you think in a review. Thanks!