Please read authors note at the end.
7. Small Comforts
After that first day, Kalare settled in to a routine. For she knew it would be some time before her father could travel and as long as he remained in lord Kadir's house, she would stay with him.
After rising, Ilarya would help her prepare for the day. Being her maid, Ilarya spend much of her time following Kalare around. After her morning meal Kalare would visit Balian and tell him her observations from the previous evening. At such a time, Ilarya would stand outside the room waiting for Kalare. As he remained stuck in his room, Balian welcomed any and all information she could bring him to occupy his mind, while his body rested. When she had told him that she would be teaching Amina how to read Balian had been very curious as the how Kalare had gained permission for this venture and especially the different reactions from the men at the dining table.
"Do you know the men who travel with the sultan, father?" Kalare had asked.
"I am acquainted with lord Imad. I knew him even before I was introduced to your mother. What is the purpose of your question?"
"In order to properly observe those around me I must know who they are and how they think," she explained.
"A quest for knowledge, I should have expected such an answer," Balian smiled. "I fear, daughter, that I will be of little use to your quest. You will have to observe those around you to learn even those most basic details."
Her daily routine allowed Kalare to observe those residing in Kadir's house away from the dining table, as it allowed her to roam around the estate without anyone questioning her.
After visiting with her father, Kalare would visit his men; again Ilarya would wait outside as Kalare was with those she considered family. Of the fifty men Balian had had with him, twenty had survived the attack. Amongst them was Almaric. After her father had surrendered Jerusalem to the Muslims, Almaric had shortly resided at Ibelin, until it too had been claimed by the Muslims. Ever since, Almaric had ridden with Balian. Together with Balian, Almaric had been responsible for Kalare's sword training. He was as an uncle to her and her sisters, the way that many of Balian's men were, as he had watched them grow from toddlers to women.
Their first meeting in lord Kadir's house was a happy one, as no one had been able to give Kalare a list of the men who had survived. When she had first entered the room he shared with two other men, they had been equally surprised to see each other.
"I must be dreaming," Almaric had stated. "For lady Kalare cannot possibly be so far from her home and sisters."
"Surely she can be, for I am," Kalare had replied. "You are not dreaming, lord Almaric. Father had sent for me and I have come."
Almaric had had far fewer injuries than Balian and it appeared that his sole remaining injury was a broken arm, though that too was quickly on the mend.
"It is good to see a familiar face in a place so far from home," Almaric said. "Especially because it will be some time before we may return there."
"I suppose it will be even longer before we can have another sword lesson," Kalare replied, remembering the previous evening.
"I would think so, for I doubt lord Kadir would approve," Almaric answered, echoing Kalare's thoughts. "Though, I also suppose that you continued to practice when you were still amongst your family."
"I can inform you that you are correct on both accounts," Kalare said.
"Lord Kadir knows of your abilities?" Almaric questioned before Kalare told him of her time in lord Kadir's house.
Because she had committed herself to teaching Amina, Kalare was unable to visit all of Balian's men every day, though she tried to visit them all at least once a week. One of the few occasions where Ilarya would leave Kalare's side was when she taught Amina. At those moments Ilarya would instead care for Balian's men while Kalare was in the presence of another woman.
Kalare's commitment to Amina's studies was rivaled only by Amina herself. After a month of working together for a few hours a day, Amina's reading had greatly improved and Kalare had slowly started to teach her how to write.
Kalare had started with words related to the objects around them in the library. When Amina had mastered them, Kalare decided to move their studies outside to find inspiration there, instead of asking Amina to copy texts from the library.
They were on such an outing when they walked into the courtyard where Emir and Tamir were practicing their sword skills. Though Kalare tried to appear as if she were looking about her for a word for Amina to spell, her gaze lingered on the men too long for Amina not to notice.
"Is it not awful, such violence so close to home?"Amina questioned, misinterpreting Kalare's feelings completely. "I believe they should practice outside the wall, so we will not be confronted with such displays."
"To master the sword is a great skill," Kalare answered honestly. "When two sword masters meet, violence becomes grace. Their battle would be magnificent to watch, similarly to a dance.
"Then I suppose neither of my brothers has mastered the sword," Amina observed, laughing joyfully.
"One has, one has not," Kalare corrected as Emir disarmed Tamir.
"Brother, retrieve your sword," Emir stated as he noticed the girls watching them. "Your defeat has been witnessed. I shall give you the opportunity to reclaim your honour."
After a single glance at the girls, Tamir reached for his sword and charged at this brother. Tamir's movements consisted of short bursts of power and looked rigid, as if he were fighting to stay in control of his sword. In comparison to Emir, Tamir's fighting style made him looked unskilled, for Emir moved smoothly. His sword was an extension of his arm, taking the time to follow through on each stroke before starting the next. It did not take long for Emir to again defeat his brother.
"I believe my brother has failed to reclaim his honour," Amina told Kalare, though her voice carried across the courtyard.
Angrily Tamir stepped towards the girls. "I suppose you believe you can do better," he spit at his sister.
Being five years older, Tamir towered over Amina. Fear of her own brother made Amina take a few steps backwards and lower her eyes to the ground.
"Or perhaps you should lift a sword," Tamir suggested as he turned to Kalare. "Did you not claim to be skilled with one?"
Unable to reply without lying or going against lord Kadir's wishes, Kalare calmly appealed to Emir, "My lord."
"Tamir, control yourself," Emir admonished, as he placed himself between his brother and Kalare. "Choose your words more wisely and beg forgiveness from lady Kalare and our beloved sister."
"Your lady should not be here or be allowed near our sisters. For she speaks lies and fills their heads with blasphemic ideas," Tamir replied heatedly. "Either she admits to her lies here and now or she raises a sword and proofs her words true."
Tamir's words raised Amina's curiosity enough to reclaim her position next to Kalare.
Realising that in his rage Tamir would not be reasoned with, Emir turned to Kalare. "I must beg forgiveness of you, lady Kalare, for my brother's behaviour and words. Neither is appropriate for your company or my sister's."
"Of course, lord Emir. Perhaps it would be best to continue Amina's lesson in the library," Kalare replied, before she turned away, locked arms with Amina and walked away.
Emir waited until the girls had left the courtyard before he turned on his brother. "Why did you voice those words?" he asked as he stood directly in front of Tamir. "Have you forgotten the one demand father had to allow lady Kalare to teach Amina how to read?"
"I have not forgotten," Tamir replied, standing his ground.
"Do you then believe father is wrong to give in to lady Kalare's request?" Emir's voice was calm as he questioned his brother's motives.
"Of course I do. Everyone who was there considered it wrong. Women have no need for reading or writing."
"Not everyone, brother. Our king, for one, did not consider it wrong. Do you believe you know better than he who was sent by God to lead us?" Emir challenged Tamir.
Realising what he had done, Tamir stepped away from his brother. "I do not understand Lord Saladin's reasons for allowing this. Lady Kalare might not be equal to other women; Amina is no different than any other woman. Why allow lady Kalare to give Amina the impression that she stands above others of her kind?"
"You fail to see that this arrangement is not for Amina's benefit," Emir explained. "Whether Amina knows how to read and write will have no influence on her life. Father will decide her future; he will choose when she marries and who she marries. Amina's status in life will not change when she is no longer illiterate."
"Then why allow such studies?" Tamir asked.
"For lady Kalare's benefit," Emir replied, though Tamir's face did not show any signs of understanding. "She is far from her home and family. There she taught her sisters what her mother taught her. By allowing lady Kalare to teach Amina, she can spend her time here without being constantly confronted by the fact that she is alone and far away from home. It is a small comfort to offer that will have no consequences for anyone here."
"How do you know that this is the reason?"
"I know because it is one of the reasons I decided to help lady Kalare with her request."
"What were your other reasons?" Tamir asked curious.
"Those are of no importance now. As the bigger problem is that you planted a seed of thought in Amina's mind. One that may lead to the end of this small comfort we have been able to provide for lady Kalare."
Once they had returned to the library Amina was unable to keep her curiosity in check.
"Why did Tamir say you had claimed to be skilled with a sword?" she asked.
"I do not know why he said what he did. Though I suspect he was unhappy we saw him lose twice," Kalare replied, attempting to steer Amina's thoughts away from Tamir's accusations.
"That is no reason for him to make up such fantastical lies," Amina countered. "Also, he has no imagination."
"I understand you would be curious to in this situation. However, I must ask you to never mention it again," Kalare insisted.
"Thus you will not tell me if Tamir spoke the truth or not?"
"I cannot tell you one way or the other. I have promised not to speak on this subject."
"I do not understand why we cannot discuss this," Amina's face was filled with disappointment. She had grown to think of Kalare as a sister who she could discuss anything with.
"And I cannot explain it to you at this time," Kalare replied sadly. "Perhaps we should end today's lesson here and start again tomorrow."
"I will still want to know tomorrow," Amina countered.
"I know. I will see what I can do to give you answers."
After leaving the library behind, Kalare wandered around lord Kadir's lands in the hopes of coming across lord Emir or lord Tamir. As her lesson with Amina has ended early, Kalare for once found herself alone as Ilarya was still caring for Balian's men. The courtyard had been abandoned, not a single sign of what had happened before remained. She moved beyond the courtyard towards the armoury, yet halted when someone called for her from the stables. It was lord Emir.
"Lady Kalare," he called out as he stepped out of the stables.
"Lord Emir," Kalare returned as she changed course towards him. "I had hoped to find you."
"I had hoped to talk to you as well, but you are alone," Emir noted Kalare's lack of attendees.
"For once I am, it is quite liberating," Kalare replied. "Perhaps it is for the best that I am, for there are some things that need not be known by everyone."
"I suppose I have never considered the restriction constant companionship can become. Perhaps we might walk through the gardens so that we may talk in private," Emir offered.
"The gardens are quite lovely," Kalare agreed as they walked side by side, similarly to how they rode together more than a month before.
"Let me again ask for your forgiveness for my brother's thoughtless words," Emir said as they had walked some way into the gardens.
"Forgiveness has already been granted, there is no need to ask for it again, my lord," Kalare replied. "However, lord Tamir's words have left Amina with questions I cannot answer without risking lord Kadir's bile."
"I feared as much," Emir replied. "However, I have not yet been able to think of a solution."
"I might have one, though I fear you will disapprove," Kalare responded.
"I believe it highly doubtful that I might disapprove of any of your thoughts or actions, my lady. For I have come to consider know you as honest and loyal," Emir replied, curious to Kalare's solution.
"I try to always be both honest and loyal. Yet sometimes I am unpredictable, my father tells me I have gained that trade from my mother."
"Your words of caution only intrigue me more. Tell me your solution to our problem, I give my word that it shall not change my opinion of you," Emir beseeched.
Kalare took a moment to make up her mind. As she saw no other solution she shared hers with Emir. "I vowed to lord Kadir not to mention my skills with a blade to Amina. Yet there were many people in attendance who now know of my skills. None of them vowed as I did." "You suggest someone else informs Amina of your skills?" Emir wondered openly.
"And presses upon her the importance of her ignorance of those skills," Kalare explained. "In this manner everyone will remain honest, yet no one need fear repercussions."
"I believe that it is true, you are unpredictable. Sometimes that is a very good quality," Emir smiled.
AN: Please review. Let me know if you think I am capturing the time correctly through dialogue and the actions of these characters. Also I've added a cover image to this story, would love to know your thoughts on that (for a bigger version go to my deviantart page (same nickname)).
I am very excited for the next chapter as it is one I have been looking forward to for a long time. I will try to finish it as soon as possible, for now I will only give you the title as a hint: A Proposition Or An Order.
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