So sorry about the lateness of this chapter, friends. I was moving this week, and it ended up being a much bigger ordeal than I originally anticipated. On the plus side, I have my own apartment now. I'm just not in it yet. Because I still have to move my bigger furniture. Yay.
I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. As always, infinite gratitude to my sister for being my editor. Also, once again, the chapter titles and title of the fic come from "Father to Son" by Phil Collins.
Chapter Three:
you're gonna find a place
The air grows colder as they make their way over the mountains and into the valley of Ha'rar. Ordon's tough Stonewood leathers are sufficiently warm, and neither Deet nor Hup mention the cold, so they make the trip without much trouble. Eyes follow them as they travel down the main thoroughfare of the city, and Ordon can feel himself slipping back into the "Captain of the Guard" posture, having relaxed in the company of his cheerful new friends.
He eventually realizes that the stares are not aimed at him. They are aimed at their group, yes, and the strange makeup, including the fact that a podling is with them. (He suspects podlings do not often wander into the capital—their own culture a stark contrast to the propriety-obsessed Vapran.) However, he realizes, they are mostly staring at Deet.
She seems to have noticed as well and is fidgety under the passersby's curious, almost offended gazes. Grottans don't care to come topside very often, he supposes.
Deet inches a little closer to him and asks, quietly, "How are we going to see the All-Maudra?"
"What do you mean?" Ordon responds, confused.
"Do you really think they'll let me in?"
His head jerks her direction in surprise. "What?"
"I wasn't allowed in to see Maudra Fara in Stone-in-the-Wood. What if they won't let me in to speak with the All-Maudra?"
He stutters for a moment, thrown off guard at the idea that Deet, of all Gelfling, would be turned away from his Maudra's court, then finally manages, "I'm the Captain of the Guard at the Castle of the Crystal. Assuming they haven't received the news of my, ah, resignation, they'll let us in."
Deet and Hup give him twin looks of surprise. "Oh!" Deet says. "Really? I knew Rian was a guard in the castle, but…" She trails off.
"Hm." He nods. "I've visited the capital many times in the trine I have been Captain. They should let us in without a problem."
"Oh."
There is a pregnant pause, and then Ordon asks carefully, "Deet. Why were you turned away from seeing Maudra Fara?"
"Well…" She fidgets with a braid in her hair, peering out at the merchants' stalls and fine ladies they walk by. "I think it was because I'm Grottan." She continues speaking in a rush. "But it was probably just because Maudra Fara is the Stonewood Maudra and so she really needed to see the Stonewoods first, I'm sure."
"Bah," Hup pipes up from his place next to Deet. He waves his spoon sharply, then spits out something in Podling about "Stonewood patootie" and "justista."
Ordon is really only able to pick up the vitriol in the podling's voice, but Deet's frantic "Shh!" in response to Hup's statement encourages his suspicion. "Did something happen in Stone-in-the-Wood?" he asks.
Deet's resolve crumbles under his gaze. "We came across a couple...not-so-nice gelfling. Hup defended my honor, but then he was thrown into the rascal hole. I tried to go to Maudra Fara and explain what happened, but the guard wouldn't let me in because I'm a Grottan."
Suddenly Ordon feels very tired. Of course, he knew the seven clans tended not to get along, and he had on occasion heard of such aggression toward outside members. He supposed he had just never experienced it directed at himself. How someone could be cruel to the gentle gelfling walking alongside him in particular confounds him and sets his blood boiling.
Without thinking, he puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks at him with wide eyes, surprised by the contact but not shrugging him off. His jaw works for a second before he says, "I'm sorry for your treatment at the hands of my kinsmen, Deethra. We Stonewood are known for our hard heads, but that is a flaw as much as it is a strength. You didn't deserve that kind of treatment."
She smiles, and gives his hand a friendly pat. "Thank you."
They continue on their walk in companionable silence, before a thought occurs to Ordon. "How did you get Hup free, then, if Fara wouldn't see you?"
Hup laughs. "Deet, scary monster!" He snarls comically for emphasis.
Deet blushes but tells the story. By the end, the group is getting even more looks than before, attracted by Ordon's loud, deep guffaws.