Sandry's Tale
A/N: Sorry I took about a month to upload, you must have all forgotten you were reading this and are now secretly disappointed you have to carry on... I have no excuses for being lazy, apart from going away a bit, so I will try to be better next time. Enjoy anyway! Oh and thanks for all reviews, feedback etc – I try to take it all into account!
Chapter 4: Letters
Two weeks had passed since Sandry had moved in with the Rokats, and as she felt more and more excluded by them, she decided to write to her siblings, something she had meant to do since before the earthquake, but had been too busy for. Now, with the endless afternoon teas and lack of stimulating chat, she felt glad to talk to them, even if it was a one-sided conversation. She found their latest letters, the ones she had not yet replied to, reread them, and sat down to compose answers.
Dear Briar, she wrote, I'm glad you and Rosethorn have finally got your own house, even if it is quite small. I hope your plants will grow well. I have terrible news that you may have already heard: Winding Circle, as well as the rest of Summersea, was hit by a huge earthquake. Don't worry, we're not hurt, but the temple was destroyed and we've all had to go live elsewhere.
Here she bit her lip, glad she did not have to tell her brother face-to-face: I'm afraid your garden was struck by the falling rocks. We managed to save some of the plants in Rosethorn's workshop, but the ones outside have all been destroyed. I'm so sorry. She knew this would hurt him as much as the death of a human would. At least your shakkan, and your favourite plants, were with you. Not that it's any real consolation, she thought. She proceeded to tell him about her adventures afterwards, knowing he would find her misunderstanding at the previous lodgings hysterical. She felt a pang of loneliness as she pictured Briar doubled over laughing, tugging on her braids saying "You really thought she was going to kill you, Duchess!" Sandry wiped away a tear, and finished her letter with: I hope you and Rosethorn are well and enjoying life in a new city. Please write back soon, I miss you both (don't tell Rosethorn!) Much love, Sandry.
She then reached over for Tris's latest letter, knowing the redhead would have left lots of questions for her. After telling her the terrible news, she answered some of them: I'll ask Uncle as soon as he gets back about that glass magic book, and see if he can send it to you. No, I didn't know of the Tharian death customs; they sound as odd as the Rokats' ideas about magic. But maybe we'll both become accustomed to them. I made you a new dress in red, but from the sound of your new cuisine you've probably lost some weight, so I'll take it in for you when you come home. At this, Sandry paused, wondering what sort of a home her siblings would return to. They were all too old to live at Winding Circle, even when it was rebuilt, and she couldn't see them living in the Citadel like her. Equally, she knew she couldn't live apart from them, especially after such a long separation. Maybe we could buy a house? She wondered, and was about to add the suggestion to her letter to Tris, when she saw two small black heads peeping round her bedroom door. As soon as she turned her head, they vanished, but when she turned back she saw them reappear out of the corner of her eye.
She realised they must be the Rokat children; the 10 and 6 year-olds. She didn't remember their names, having only seen them briefly a few times with their nursemaids, but she wanted to find out – she enjoyed playing with children; she still felt like a child herself sometimes. They seemed shy, so she pretended she hadn't seen them and carried on writing, this time to Daja – the easiest of her siblings to write to because she put only the basic information into her letters and didn't ask for long explanations about Sandry's daily life (Tris) or tease her (Briar). This time, however, she read what she wrote out loud, hoping the sound of foreign cities and adventure would draw the children in.
"I think Namorn sounds like a lovely city, although the weather sounds too cold for me! But your talk of ice sculptures and skating is amazing. Hopefully when Tris and Briar come back from their adventures we can all go somewhere together and meet new people and try new things!" Out of the corner of her eye she saw the heads had reappeared, and there was even a thumb in the little boy's mouth, so she put the letter down, and said, as if to herself,
"What amazing places my friends have gone to. I can just imagine the busy markets in Tharios where Tris is learning to scry the wind. Maybe she'll buy me a beautiful glass vase, all swirled with different colours that looks as if it's alive!"
The boy was now half sitting on the floor, and his sister was leaning on the wall absentmindedly.
"And Briar; he's in Chammur, where the land is so dry that they have strange plants which store water inside them. He told me about one that you can cut open and drink from, and it's as fresh as rainwater!"
Both children were finally inside the room, listening avidly. Sandry turned to them and said excitedly, "Have you ever been to a city like that?"
The little boy shook his head and looked shyly up at her, but the girl said importantly, "Before we came here we were in Yanjing; there Mama had three maids just to dress her!"
"Wow," said Sandry, "Did you like it in Yanjing?"
"Yes," replied the girl, "But I like it better here because we're by the sea."
"And we can sail our boats when Eduardo and Danjel are here!" cried the little boy enthusiastically. He edged closer to Sandry so he was sitting next to her.
"Are Eduardo and Danjel your brothers?" asked Sandry, knowing the two eldest Rokat boys were out on business trips.
The little girl nodded and came to lean on Sandry's shoulder. "Will you tell us more about the places your brother and sisters are in?" she asked.
"Of course," said Sandry, "but first will you tell me your names?"
"I'm Salina," said the girl proudly, "and my brother is Corron. But we all call him Coco."
"Well I'm Sandry. Now, what do you want to hear about?" She drew Coco onto her lap where he sat, gazing up at her, and Salina came to sit cross-legged facing her, as she proceeded to tell them about her siblings and herself; their previous lives and the adventures they had had so far together.
After an hour or so, when Sandry's voice was getting sore, Jarmin came looking for the two children. When she saw them sitting so close to Sandry, enthralled with her stories, she was furious. She berated her siblings for "hiding away", and reminded that sitting idly and listening to stories – at that she glared at Sandry - was laziness and a sin. She then swept them away to baths and bed, refusing to look at or listen to Sandry's apologies.
Sandry sighed again – every time she felt she was getting close to one member of the family or another, a door was slammed, usually by Jarmin.
