Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan.
Settling In
The snow had stopped falling sometime during the night. Staring out of the window, Sonea could see the valley more clearly now. Although it had seemed wide and long when they arrived last night, in reality it was merely wider and flatter than the trails they had been following for the past two days. She thought it was probably only around three times larger than the magicians' gardens at the Guild. It was hemmed in by tall, steep-sided peaks on either side which made it feel even smaller than it actually was. From where she was looking, she was unable to see the entrance or the exit. The place could be easily defended and she wonder if that was why Akkarin had chosen it.
How did he know it was here? There were still so many unanswered questions and she hoped that Akkarin's comment the previous night that they would talk about everything meant that he was willing at last to share things with her. He was not in the building, of course. She had awakened to find him gone and she could see fresh horse tracks in the snow outside. She still found it rather irritating that he continually disappeared with no warning. I think I'd better get used to it, or life is going to be one eternal irritation!
She looked around the room. Takan had already started to make it feel more homely. He had spread out his pots and pans near the fireplace and was busily stirring a pot hanging over the flames. The room had been swept and the bits of furniture dusted. Takan seemed in a cheerful mood as she could hear some sort of quiet singsong chanting coming from his direction. She watched him, fascinated. She had never really seen him cook before, only relished the results. He was fully absorbed in his task, rather like a magician concentrating on performing a complicated spell and she was sure he had never been happier.
The sound of a horse drew her attention to the outside again. It was Akkarin and she could see he had several bundles of something hanging from his saddle. She watched as he swung himself down, as graceful as ever, and led the horse towards the stable. They disappeared inside and she continued to watch until he emerged again and strode towards the house.
The door opened and he came in, stamping his feet to dislodge the snow. He looked in a cheerful mood, his cheeks above the beard pink and glowing from the cold. He hung his cloak on a peg near the door and came to the fire, spreading his hands to the warmth.
"Good morning!" she said brightly. "Where have you been?"
"Seeing if there was fodder for the horses," he replied. "The hay we brought from Imardin is all gone. Luckily, I saw something on the way here yesterday and went back to get it. It's not enough, but it's a start."
As he was speaking he came towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Sleep well?" he asked and seemed pleased when she nodded. They exchanged small talk while Takan set out their breakfast on the table. He had made porridge again, but this time it was more like the meal Sonea was used to, creamy white and without much in the way of spices. She ate it gratefully, feeling particularly hungry. The cold weather really did bring out her appetite and she was pleased there was enough for a second helping.
Once the meal had been eaten and the remains cleared away, Takan made fresh tea and the three of them pulled their chairs nearer the fire. It was time to talk. Sonea looked expectantly at Akkarin.
He cleared his throat, "Perhaps it would be best if you asked questions, then I can tell you what you really want to know," he said quietly.
"Where exactly are we?" Sonea asked quickly, "I know we're in the Steelbelt Ranges, but where?"
"We are very close to the border with Sachaka, but firmly still in Kyralia," he replied. "I suppose our nearest town is Galia, that's where we'll need to go for supplies. It has a market and as strangers as well as locals use the market, we won't stand out as someone new in the area."
"I really wish I'd paid attention when we were learning geography!" Sonea exclaimed, "I really don't know much about anywhere outside Imardin."
Akkarin laughed and drawing a scrap of paper from his pocket, sketched a rough map, pointing out places and directions until she was surer of where they were. Now that question was out of the way, she had several more.
"What will we do here? Will we still study magic? Will we meet up with others? …"
Akkarin smiled at her enthusiasm, but held up a hand to prevent any more questions.
"We will try to survive here in as comfortable a manner as possible. Yes, there is still much to learn. I'll teach you to shield as a first priority. We must be careful with using magic. I explained before that unless a magician shields properly, any other magician within a reasonable distance is aware magic is being used and can pinpoint the direction. We are not that far from some Magicians' Communities, including your friend Dorrien, and we don't want to alert anyone that more magicians have moved into the area. As well as our own Guild members, we have to remember the Ichani are not far away. We need to stay undetected by any magic user on either side of the border."
"As far as meeting others is concerned, you must understand, Sonea, that I intend to remain completely unrecognised and undetected. Our security depends on it. If the Guild has any suspicion that I am still alive or that you are here, they will send Warriors to capture us. The same goes for the Ichani. Kariko's death will not change much. It will slow down their preparations for an attack on the Guild, but it won't stop them.
Why do you think I have chosen a place close to the wastelands? It's so we can react quickly if the Ichani move against us again."
Sonea thought over what Akkarin said and it made sense. Just because the Guild saw them as enemies and wished for their destruction didn't alter their purpose. They were still available to defend the Guild whether it wanted them to or not. Thinking back to Akkarin's makeshift map, she knew they were between the two Passes, in an ideal position to intercept any Ichanis who tried to cross the border. They would need to keep their Warrior skills honed, though, as well as continuing to study other things.
"What about your magic books?" she asked. "How will we study without books and parchments?"
"I cannot recreate my library, that was lost with the Residence, but I did have some books in Imardin and I made arrangements for them to be transported to Galia. Takan will collect them from the local inn when he goes to the market."
Faced with this fresh evidence that Akkarin's plans were usually several steps ahead of anyone else's, Sonea couldn't prevent a congratulatory grin from spreading over her face, "I might have known…" she said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Takan will go to the market tomorrow with the packhorse," he went on. "If there is anything you want particularly, let him know."
The rest of the day passed quickly as there was so much to do. Sonea went out to collect wood for the fire while Akkarin collected more fodder to store in the hayloft over the stable. Later, using magic, Sonea cleaned the rest of the house, taking the opportunity to poke around in small cupboards and other places to see what the building could offer. Over the evening meal, she suggested that they use the small room on the ground floor as a place where she and Akkarin could study magic.
"There's even a cupboard where we can store our books," she pointed out.
Takan had been inspecting the scullery and pronounced it would do well as a kitchen. There was an old stone sink which only needed a thorough clean, to be suitable and Akkarin promised to get wood to make shelves so that his servant could store all his ingredients and pots and pans.
"I should like a fire place, so I can cook there too," Takan said firmly. "It's not appropriate to cook food in the main room."
There was general agreement that Takan should have his wish, after all, it was in everyone's interests that the best cook in Kyralia should be happy in his place of work!
"There's something I would like," Sonea thought it would be a good moment to make her bid for space as they were deciding what to use the accommodation for. "Would it be possible to have somewhere to bathe?"
Akkarin thought for a moment, then nodded. "Come with me,"
He led them to the other barn at the side of the house. It was much smaller than the stable, but it was a sturdy building with a good roof and plenty of space to put a bath. Sonea was delighted, the stream was nearby so there would be a plentiful supply of water and it wouldn't take too much magic to heat it to the right temperature. She almost danced around with joy, there was very little she liked more than a good hot bath.
"Well, that's settled then," Sonea said with satisfaction, as they returned to the house. "We'll have this place feeling like a home soon."
It had started to snow again, although not heavily, and Sonea wondered what the weather would be like once full winter arrived.
"It will be very cold and the snow is likely to be deep," Akkarin said in response to her question. "We have a week or two to collect as much wood, fodder and food as we can, then we will have to face being snowed in for some time. Spring comes late to the tops of the Steelbelt Ranges, we mustn't forget that. There'll be a lot of preparation to do to ensure we can survive without needing to leave here."
For the first time in quite a while, Sonea thought about the child. Would it be born before the spring? She didn't know. She wished she had asked Lorlen exactly when it would be born, but in the shock of finding out she was pregnant, she hadn't thought to ask. She tried to count up the weeks, but her mind refused to work it out. She looked up to find Akkarin staring at her and quickly pushed all thoughts of her pregnancy to the depths of her mind.
"That sounds worrying," she said hastily, hoping Akkarin would only see her concern for the weather in her surface thoughts and nothing else. "There's not much time to get it all sorted out."
Akkarin disappeared a bit later, and when he returned, he had altered his appearance. The full heavy beard had gone, but he had kept it around his mouth and chin, trimming it close to his skin. The small, pointed beard suited him, Sonea thought, although her preference was still for the clean-shaven High Lord.
He smiled at her reaction, "This is the final version! Meet newly retired sea captain Verrin who has come, with his woman and servant, to take possession of his uncle's old farm. You will be Syma, of course, and Takan will be Kanat. That is our story and you must remember it, we don't want any confusion."
They spent the rest of the evening fleshing out their story and ensuring that each of them remembered all the details. Verrin had given up the sea at the urging of his woman who hated being left alone. He remembered that his old uncle had died a few years ago, leaving him the farm and it seemed like a good time to settle down, with the bit of money he'd saved, to see if he was cut out to be a farmer. Syma was happy and the servant had no opinion.
"We need to keep it simple," Akkarin had said. "If it gets too complicated, we'll forget bits and that way leads to trouble."
They all went off to their beds shortly afterwards. Sonea was glad to find that neither of them was too tired for lovemaking. As she lay, naked in his arms afterwards, he began to run his hands over her body in a slow, soothing rhythm.
"Your body seems to like my attentions," he said softly, his fingers lightly circling, "I do believe your breasts have become bigger; all these caresses must agree with you."
Sonea froze. Surely the signs weren't obvious yet! She made a light-hearted comment about him tiring her out so she needed her sleep and tried to turn away, but he wouldn't let her.
"No," he said, still softly, "Don't move. I love exploring your skin."
She tried again, but still, he kept her in position. In an attempt to stop him finding more changes in her body, she pressed herself against him, her head against his chest, so that he could only move his hands along her back. All the while her mind was in a whirl. Half of her knew that there was no reason now why she couldn't tell him he was to be a father, but at the back of her mind was the fear of his reaction. Not yet, not yet! Let's just get used to being here, then I'll tell him.
But it was the small niggling voice which kept her awake long after Akkarin had gone to sleep.
The longer I wait, the harder it will become.