Chapter Thirty Seven - Laundry

It had started snowing again. It lay six inches deep on the ground now except where the horse traffic churned the roads and yards to mud. Pazu realized he'd not yet seen a single steam or motor vehicle in this town. He supposed it was quite a small place and well inland away from the busy ports and mines. He found the presence of animal traffic strangely peaceful, the Ravine was all about steam and machinery and roaring fires and shouting, sweating men and he thought he would miss that, but here the combination of horses and carts, woodland, winter fields and narrow muddy roads felt harmonious.

Behind the inn was a small paddock where drovers would keep their sheep, geese or cattle while walking them to market. At this time of year it was empty. In one corner of it was a strange construction. It was a type of tent, large and of oval shape – two long sides and curved ends. It had a steeply pitched roof with a central point. A number of roof poles met here, passing through a hole out of which the smoke from a fire curled. The walls were sloped inwards and made up of what looked like carpets hung between more poles. The predominant colouring of the patterned carpets was a russet, autumnal colour, the colour of sandstone soil. Outside on the snow the men's saddles were stood and two small wooden stools were placed either side of a wooden chest. Behind the saddles a frame was against the tent, on here with a canvas covering to keep the snow off, hung their bows and swords.

"Watch what I do, do as I do. I'll do the talking. You're lucky. I'm the socially superior person today, because of my bleeding. So listen and learn. When they offer you food don't eat until you see me eat. Before we eat there will be prayers. If I get up you must do too, don't sit until I do. And when we finish eating, you say "schoma taemo yau om-e" which means 'my stomach thanks you'."

He chuckled, things seemed both complicated and funny with these people.

"Is the owner of the threshold within?" she called

Shuna appeared from behind a red carpet.

"Visitors, you are welcome over my threshold, enter."

He bowed and made a sweeping gesture with his right hand. At the carpet flap Sheeta kicked off her shoes, Pazu struggled to unlace his boots but Shuna and Sheeta waited patiently for him. Inside, the carpet-tent was far bigger than it looked from the outside. The two curved ends contained bedding and an internal hanging carpet was folded back which at night when dropped down would give the sleeper some privacy. At the rear of the tent were piled up various bags of equipment and in the centre the main space had a fire built on a raised metalwork hearth. The floor was of rolled coarse matting with softer rugs scattered on top. Pazu's first impression was of space, his second of warmth and his third of a wonderful, a most amazing smell.

Keya was by the fire, cooking. He stood as they entered. Shuna made a small bow to Sheeta with palms together and she returned the gesture, this ritual was repeated between her and Keya and then the Pazu-Shuna and Pazu-Keya pairs followed. A thought made Pazu smile.

at a big meeting just coming in the door must take hours

Shuna invited Sheeta to sit. He provided her with a red cushion and as she sank down cross legged Pazu noticed that she lifted her skirt so that she didn't sit on it but it pooled around her in a circle. Pazu sat and Shuna invited Sheeta to pray. She bowed her head and held her palms open on her lap. It struck Pazu that it was the same posture Tanner used. He watched Sheeta, a look of wonderful peace came over her face.

"Mother Lucita, for the fruitfulness of your womb we thank you. From the seed in your soil comes our food. We thank you. Of the richness of your harvest we eat. For the gift of friends we are grateful. Maehome."(1)

"Maehome," both Shuna and Keya solemnly intoned.

Pazu was still watching her. How beautiful she was when she was close to the spirit for whom she was named. Keya looked at Pazu and saw him so much under Sheeta's spell. And he wondered what that might mean for their future.

Pazu had to admit that the meal was astonishing, he hadn't tasted anything quite like it. If this was breakfast served while traveling he wondered what a dinner served at a house would be like. There were small savory dumplings to start with that seemed to be a mixture of potato, yellow corn and herbs. These were boiled, painted with an ochre oil then flash grilled on an iron skillet to crisp their outsides. They were popped in the mouth in a single bite. The outer coating was crispy, the inside smooth and piping hot. Next he was given a simple wooden bowl the size of a soup bowl and in the bottom of this Keya spooned a yellowish crumbly mixture, not wet and yet not dry. This turned out to be a kind of mashed up pulse with a colouring from the Konsha spice which provided a slightly hot sweet flavour. Keya called it Bomao, and it was their staple starch and more common than potatoes. On top of the Bomao Keya poured a clear orange liquid which had the consistency of honey. In it Pazu could see small vegetables such as peas and beans and things that looked like chopped up carrots. Finally from the iron skillet he was offered two or three small patties of meat, minced up, patted into small coin shapes and then grilled. Sheeta declined these and copying her he did too but she said he should try them, she only refused because they were Yaoko meat.

They ate. The thing that struck Pazu was how spicy the meal was. It left a hot sensation in his mouth and throat. Not unpleasantly hot but very warming. He later found out to his distress that these were mild spices and meals could be served much hotter. There was no fork or spoon offered him but they spooned up the meal with fingers of hard bread sliced from a large flat disc of a loaf called Poto.

The other aspect of the meal that struck him was that it took a long time. This was because they talked. A lot. About all sorts of things. At the Ravine and even with Tanner and Morwen, meals tended to be eaten quickly, with little conversation. At the Ravine the men would stuff their faces then go out to the tavern and spend hours talking and drinking beer. Here, eating seemed to be the social centre of the day and it was mid-morning before breakfast was over. Tanner would have had a fit, half his work day was gone by the time they finished here.

The conversation flowed and swooped around, touching on a dozen subjects. Sheeta asked about the village and things in Gondoa generally, the harvest was talked about and they learned that several people had taken in Sheeta's crops and looked after her animals and house. Apparently the village had been very worried about her disappearance. Pairs of riders had gone out to several places searching for her, even across Restormel to the border with Marinaer where they had been turned back by the army. They had looked in all the ports and airfields. Sheeta showed her gratitude. There had been two births in the village and a man had returned from his year away. The harvest had been good, it had been a good summer.

Pazu sat, Pazu listened, Pazu learned.

They discussed the war, but little could be said about it, there seemed to be nothing of substance coming out of Marinaer, many different rumours had been heard. Pazu sat silently throughout all this, soaking up the news and watching the two men and Sheeta interact, watching the body language. What became quickly obvious was that despite her being younger than the youngest of the two men by several years, she was clearly the senior person present. The two men didn't fawn over her, there was nothing obsequious in their behaviour but they were polite and it was in their language that they willingly took the submissive position, in small gestures, in letting her lead the conversation. He didn't know if this was because she was the guest, a woman who was bleeding, or a princess. Somehow he doubted the latter; if she came from an ordinary farming family it appeared she had little social status in this community because of her bloodline.

What the two men pointedly avoided discussing was him. They asked him no questions and their talk with Sheeta about her travels centred on her welfare rather than the reason. Pazu found this odd, he could sense a whole important subject here that was being avoided. He wanted to talk about Muska's kidnapping of her but something told him to keep silent. The meal finished with tea which was served very sweet and with mint leaves infused in it. The sweetness was cloying and almost made him gag but the mint infusion breathed through the nose cleared his sinuses and filled his lungs with a fresh washed sensation. As they left the tent he felt light headed, the day seemed very bright outside and the inn across the paddock seemed to sway gently from side to side as though floating a little above the ground. Or was it him, was he floating?

"Schoma taemo yau om," they both left their thanks at the carpet flap entryway.

The two Gondoans said they would sleep for the rest of the morning then buy supplies. The offer to return for an evening meal was extended and Pazu spoke for the first time since making his greeting.

"We would like to eat with you. Thank you for inviting us."
"An hour after sunset then, we will look forward to it."

As they went back across the field, Sheeta slipped an arm through his, and walked close, almost clinging. Pazu could feel the two men watching and they would know the status of their relationship from this gesture. Why that bothered him he didn't know, but it did. He was an intruder here, pressing against a society he didn't know. Would he be welcome? Why hadn't they talked to him? Why did he feel like he was floating above the ground?

--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I

"Why didn't we talk about me?"
"I avoided the whole subject. That could have become complicated. I don't think they would have wanted to know much about the Ravine, so talking about you would have led quickly to talking about us and our journey. Muska, Tepis, Goliath and Laputa are subjects we should avoid, don't you think? And I'm not going to tell lies to these people, my own villagers."

He silently agreed with her. He had no past, none at all and there was nothing about himself to tell except mining and steam engines. Mentioning a father who had once seen and photographed Laputa and his own flying machine seemed to lead straight down the path Sheeta had suggested was taboo.

"And Paetsu, I knew they wanted to know about you. You can't pick up on the etiquette but Keya particularly was interested in you. If I spoke to him, before he replied he would look at you. Didn't you notice?"
"Yes, I did. He looked at me quite a lot. I felt like he was examining me."
"His look was a signal to me that rather than answer my question, he wanted to talk about you. I ignored his request and he got the message. Nothing to worry about, I think he might just be curious. But tonight we should avoid talking about you as well. If they ask you just be non-committal and try to steer the conversation back to them and their village and way of life. That way you'll learn more as well."

He watched her stirring the big wooden wash barrel, their second lot of laundry turning slowly around in the steaming soapy water. He sat down and put his head in his hands. His head still felt strange and floaty an hour after walking out of Shuna's tent. He looked up at her and now there were two Sheeta's stirring two laundry barrels.

"Urh, what is wrong with me?"
"Timsu, I expect. Did the tea taste of mint to you? Do you feel funny? Head not attached to the rest of you?"
"Hmmm, very odd. Nice but just… odd. I'm walking and the ground is six inches below my feet. Mint, yes. What is it?"
"A plant. It grows high in the mountains just above the tree line. It has pretty little yellow flowers. We use its leaves a lot in herbal remedies, in tea, medicines, to help heal wounds and in the Telle."
"Oh, no, more words. What's the Telle?"

She smiled at him mischievously, and kept stirring her witches brew.

"I expect you'll find out tonight, I doubt they will prepare an evening meal and not serve the Telle, especially to you. They'll know you've never had it before so be careful. I'd suggest you don't eat heavily just in case it doesn't agree with you."
"That sounds bad. What is it?"
"It comes after the meal, but don't worry, I'll be right with you and afterwards you'll see how nice the effects are."

Again another secret smile.

"Why won't you tell me? Is it like Timsu leaves? Will it make my head feel funny again?"
"That would spoil the surprise. I think you'll like it. Oh, and have we much money left?"
"Yes, some, a gold coin and two silver."
"Enough for another bath?"
"Yes, plenty."
"We should both bath before we go to eat."
"I bathed last night. What is this?"
"Don't you want to be clean?"
"I am clean!"
"No you're not, you've got today's dirt on you."
"I don't get it, we went a week without bathing when we were traveling."
"And it was horrible. Now you're a Gondoan you bath like we do, as often as you can."
"I'm not a Gondoan!"
"I don't know any Gondoan princes who aren't Gondoans do you?"
"Yes. Me."
"You're missing the point. You can't be one and not the other."
"You're just playing with words."
"You're not facing the facts."

He looked carefully at her, trying to decide if she was tricking him. Her face wore a light easy expression, her eyes sparkled with humour and he couldn't work out what she was up to because if he looked at her for too long he just wanted to kiss her.

"I am a Gondoan now then?"
"Soon you will be, when we get home."
"To your farm."
"Yes, that's what I said. Home."
"Our home?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"What for?"
"I love you."

Suddenly his heart was floating like his head, one moment he'd been worried about this bathing thing and something suspicious at tonight's meal and then, in the blink of an eye he realized what she was offering him. If she was a princess and he a prince then they couldn't just live together in her farm could they? Only married people did that. Which meant…

She stopped stirring and wore a look on her face that definitely made him want to kiss her.

"Paetsu, uesen yau al-dhu' ulve om."(2)
"I don't know how to say this in Gondoan."
"Just say it in your tongue."
"Sheeta, will you marry me?"

She gave him a cute smile, just a little one, off-hand and radiant with warmth.

"Of course. I thought that was obvious."
"Ah…"
"Come here, my beautiful clumsy boy."

He stood and walked around the laundry barrel.

"I love you very much, Paetsu, and of course I'll marry you. I've wanted to marry you since the minute before we said the spell of destruction. When you stood and held me in the throneroom I knew what sort of boy you really were. I knew then that I didn't need anyone else in my life, ever."
"Right back then?"
"Hm, of course."
"Why didn't you say?"
"Girls don't. Boys take the lead."

He chuckled.

"Hm, not me. I was a clueless idiot. And you put up with my fumbling about for weeks."
"Taeg Paetsu, you fumble about beautifully. You learn fast, and learn beautifully too."
"Sheeta, thank you. For everything. You're wonderful."
"No, that's your job."
"No, I'm just the clumsy one, the one who falls in streams, crashes aircraft and makes medicine by accident."
"Kaesu om-e."

And he did, for a long time. After several minutes she pushed him away, she had to before it got to the point where she would be unable to.

"Mmm… Paetsu, let me put this laundry to dry. And your hair is disgusting, you didn't wash it last night. Look how long it's getting, it needs washing. I want to do that. And I'll give you that bath."

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28 March - 1 April 2007

(1) "Amen" would be the nearest equivalent.
(2) Uesen is a general connective, continuity word. It can mean "and", "then", "as well", "so".

For author notes about Chapter Thirty Seven, please see my forum (click on my pen name)