tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5450074225103158202024-02-20T19:28:12.985-07:00Cluttered ShelvingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-55042161144451784202018-02-01T11:01:00.000-07:002018-02-01T11:06:02.685-07:00Instance 68 - Pt. 1Instance 68 - Pt. 1<br /><br />The tether unspooled behind Nelson as she pushed off. She didn’t like it out here, not the way some of her crew did. It was dizzying, stomach churning. The hull of the ship extended out into the distance in front and behind her as she ran, but in nearly every other direction there was only space. There was nothing firm for your eyes to hold onto in that distance. No matter how still you stood on the hull, the ship was always spinning, moving relative the starfield around it, and you couldn’t hold a single point of light fixed in your gaze for long enough to get any real bearings. <br /><br />Nelson stared at the hull below, guiding herself to a landing, then pushed off again. Jumping and dashing got you across the hull a lot faster, and she was in a hurry, and even though it wasn’t inherently any riskier than just walking, she wished she had the luxury of taking her time. <br /><br />“She’s crying now,” the voice in her headset informed her calmly, “she’s gonna let go soon.”<br /><br />“Why didn’t this show up in the last diagnostics?” a second voice, agitated and nervous.<br /><br />“Save it for when we have her back inside, then we’ll figure out what went wrong.”<br /><br />“If we get her back,” the first voice again, still calm. Dein had been through this before, had been there when they’d lost the last SPIDER. He knew losing his cool wouldn’t help now.<br /><br />“I swear I checked the emergency clamps.”<br /><br />“No one is blaming you,” Nelson said into her headset as she skipped off the hull again, “Aragog is in shit shape, Reggie, even for a SPIDER. Even I can’t get my head around the nest of programs that make up her operatings system.”<br /><br />“Nelson,” Dein’s tone had an unsettled edge, not a good sign, “she’s letting go.”<br /><br />“Shit!” Nelson landed and took off again, pushing harder, the tether seemed to whine in protest as is unwounded out the back of her suite, “I’m nearly there.” <br /><br />“If she’s detached, you have the slack to go out and grab her.”<br /><br />“I know, I know,” she grumbled to him as she landed hard. She’d do it if she had too, but the idea of floating off into open space with just the tether to pull her and the SPIDER back down made her stomach turn over.<br /><br />She could see Aragog clearly now, four legs up off the hull, floating, the other two still holding on. She pushed off hard and landed just a foot away, but the impact shook the hull plate and one of Aragog’s legs came loose.<br /><br />“Shit!!”<br /><br />“What?” Reggie cried.<br /><br />“Just one holding on, but she’s still here.” <br /><br />Nelson was panting, heart racing as she took out a clamp from her belt and hooked it around the first leg she could reach. <br /><br />“I have her,” she said, still out of breath, “she’s tethered to me. I’m gonna take a quick look out here, then haul her in.”<br /><br />A pair of relieved sighs filled her headset.<br /><br />“Told you you didn’t need to worry,” Dein said.<br /><br />“Thanks,” came Reggie’s voice, and she exhaled heavily. <br /><br />“Have the bay ready, we can’t afford to have Aragog in repairs more than 4 hours.”<br /><br />“Nelson, I’m not sure that’s -”<br /><br />“I’m sorry Dein, but you saw the latest readings, we have five more microfissures on the dome, and Anansi can’t get to all of them on her own. We patch Aragog up and we get her back out.” <br /><br />“Okay, four hours, I’ll be ready.” <br /><br />The gloves made it hard for Nelson to open the panel. If a SPIDER was truely out of commission, it was best to repair them inside where you could do the work unencumbered, but if she was getting the SPIDER inside, she needed to turn the magnetic systems completely off so the SPIDER didn’t keep trying to take hold of the hull as they went back. <br /><br />Aragog was acting up more and more, the least reliable of their SPIDERS. Maybe in a few weeks they’re be a break in the repairs, and they could afford to pull her in for real maintenance. Anansi was their best SPIDER, the oldest and somehow still in the best working order. She took commands better than the others, stayed on task, and even sent back reports on schedule half the time. <br /><br />“You do your best, don’t you girl?” Nelson patted Aragog’s panel cover after she’d switched off the magnetic systems. “We all do our best.”<br /><br />At least she could walk back to the airlock, though it would take more time; it would be too risky to try jumping all the way back with the SPIDER. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-39406377500860882302015-06-11T17:48:00.000-06:002015-06-11T17:51:00.866-06:00Blue Coast pt.2Want to start at the beginning? <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2013/11/blue-coast.html" target="_blank">Blue Coast pt. 1</a><br />
<br />
Part 2<br />
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Emma was only spared a scolding for dripping water through the house because the servants cleared it away moments after she walked in the door. Her mother was in a rare anxious mood, in a rush to make everything ready for their guests, and the servants were in a rush behind her. The Laudriel estate was about to be host to visiting elves from Blue Coast and the many nobel dwin from Pauldrein who would come to see them. <br />
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Emma’s plans with Rilen made the whole formal affair seem much more exciting than it had before. Soon her knowledge of Blue Coast might not just come from visitors and travelers, she might actually see the city for herself. <br />
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Her parents rarely fussed over her, and in the days before their visitors arrived she saw even less of them than usual. Each day that passed Emma grew more anxious when she didn’t hear from Rilen. She spent most days in her family’s library, studying the texts that related to Patrons and the Assembly. <br />
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The library’s shelves had been carved into the stone walls of the house, and filled with many dozens of books about history, law, and dwin and dwarven culture. The tables and chairs, like all the furniture in the Laudriel estate, was stone, carved out of the earth rather than resting on it. <br />
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Such old dwarven architecture was rare, even most of the other dwarven built estates in the upper valley were not so expansively carved. The dwarven techniques used to expose and hew the stone so precisely underground had been a rarity even while the dwarven race still lived. Most estates mixed this expert dwarven style with more common furniture and construction materials. <br />
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When Emma looked at the lamps, carved from the same stone as the ceiling, the stone table, extending out of the floor, all she saw was earth and rock. Yet her mother took more pride in their home than in almost anything. <br />
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A dense, tightly bound book rested on the table in front of Emma. Each page contained details of Assembly Patrons and the businesses they’d represented. The records went back nearly four hundred years. The latest entries, from the last few decades, were in her mother’s own hand, entered for her personal records.<br />
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Emma jotted down notes in her own journal, pulling out details that might strengthen her case when she presented to the Assembly. Here, in this place she’d spent so many years studying, it was easier to push aside her excitement and face the issue with a clear mind, though she knew once she was finished with her studies the anxiety and nervous excitement would again overtake her. <br />
<br />
“There was a runner for you at the door,” she looked up in surprise to find her brother in the doorway, “told me to pass you a message.”<br />
<br />
“What? Are they gone?”<br />
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Nelum grinned at her, lifting just one corner of his mouth, “Yeah, I sent him on his way, it wasn’t a complicated message - east side of the Velshin Fields, usual time,” he cocked his head at her, “you have a usual time to meet somebody out in the fields?”<br />
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Emma started at him but didn’t answer. <br />
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“Fine, don’t tell me,” he shrugged. <br />
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Though older than Emma, Nelum was shorter, taking more after their mother. His orange eyes were softer than his sister’s, and his long arms made him seem more dwarfish than the common dwin. But he had the same oval face she did, the same wavy brown hair, and the same desire to wander outside their valley home. <br />
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“You could tell me what you’re reading? I can’t believe you’re still studying five times a day, like a child, Mother’s too busy to even notice. I haven’t spent one minute in this place longer than I need to.”<br />
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At twenty-seven Emma was not still a child, yet not quite an adult. It would be a few more years still until she could leave her family estate, if she chose, and pursue her own ends. Though Nelum was old enough to leave home he, like children in many noble households, stayed in his family estate, given up independence in favor of comfort. <br />
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“I’m not acting like a child, it’s not like Tomas is here scrutinizing my penmanship.”<br />
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“Only because Tila and Moor talking him into doing their lessons outside today,” his brown folded quizzically, “How come Tomas never let us study outside when we were that young?”<br />
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“I think he’s too old to fight it anymore. We wore him down,” Emma smiled at him, “At least Tila and Moor get to benefit from all our hard work.” <br />
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“Really now, what are you reading,” he crossed the room to her, taking a seat on the padded stone bench, “You look like you actually care about it.”<br />
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“I’m studying the Merchant Assembly.”<br />
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“By the Ardent, Emma, really? At least you could be reading about something interesting,” he looked at her with a pained expression, “No, wait, don’t tell me you plan to become an Overseer like Eibe. Come on Emma, you’re much too interesting for that.”<br />
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“First of all, if you studied at all, you’d know two members of the same family can’t be Overseers at the same time,” his pained look did not vanish, and seemed to grow more severe, “and second my reasons are my own, so leave it alone.”<br />
<br />
She closed the book and pushed it aside, picking up another, much older book. As she opened it the pages crinkled with age. Nelum’s eyes widened and he took in a deep breath.<br />
<br />
“Careful Emma, if Mother sees you with that one she’ll be pretty upset.”<br />
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“Like you said, she’s too busy right now to notice anything.” <br />
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<br />
She turned the pages, all browning with age. The writing was still dwin, though the letters had a different quality to them, more blocky and angular than the script in most of the other books she’d read. <br />
<br />
“She’ll notice if you ruin her favorite book. That thing’s pre-Divide, one of the oldest books in the city.”<br />
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“Oh, is it?” she rolled her eyes, “If only Mother had reminded me of that every chance she got.”<br />
<br />
“Why do you need it anyway?”<br />
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“I said, I’m studying the Assembly. These are the laws that govern it, I need to look at them.”<br />
<br />
“Dwarves held that book, Emma, real dwarves. They might have been the one’s to bind it, even.”<br />
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“I don’t care about Dwarves the way you and Mother do. They were just people, people who aren’t around anymore. Look,” she knocked on the table, “Dwarves built this, but it’s still ugly and cold.”<br />
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The white stone of the table rose up from the ground at many points. Carved lines of stone twisted into ornate patterns, geometric shapes encircled each other. One large hole was in the middle of the carvings on each side of the table and squares, octagons, and multi-sided stars spun around the circles. The stone grew thick toward the top where it gradually joined into one block, bending into a sturdy, smooth surface.<br />
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“Definitely don’t let Mother hear you calling her tables ugly, not with those Blue Coast elves here,” he laughed at put his arm around his sister. <br />
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She smiled weakly. Looking at the table had brought back memories of other days spent in the library with Nelum. When she was a child her older brothers, Nelum and Eibe, used to force Emma under the table, in through the large circles, and tell her she was in prison. They would pretend to drop tools in with her and tell her she had to work to make up for her crimes.<br />
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When she was very young she lashed out at them. She would scream and yell, trying to climb back out, and when they pushed her in again she would bang at the stone work until their mother yelled at them, worried they would break it. Eventually she learned the thing to do was sit, her arms crossed, not looking at them, not reacting. Soon after that they tired of the game.<br />
<br />
The memory of being trapped in the cold, dark interior of the table flashed so vividly in her mind that she wanted to slap her brother’s hand away and run out of the house, but Nelum was talking about Blue Coast, and his words distracted her from her anger.<br />
<br />
“There is a dwin neighborhood in Blue Coast, Father has cousins who live there. It’s a bunch of dwin who wanted to live outside Paulderain, some of them were even born in the city.”<br />
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“Do you think it’s really different there? Do you think their lives are anything like ours.”<br />
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He shrugged, “I don’t know. I bet it’s not all that different.”<br />
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“They don’t worship dwarves in Blue Coast,” she pointed out.<br />
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“No, they worship ceruleanite, or near enough. Without Tunki’s Daughter and the ceruleanite it deposits, they would just be another port city, one stop along the coast. With it they are one of the most important cities in the world.”<br />
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Emma didn’t agree with that, but said nothing. Ceruleanite was common down the long leagues of the river, Blue Coast was far from the world’s only source of the valuable stones, and most of the ones that washed up on its beaches lacked any magical properties and were only good for decoration.<br />
<br />
“Why are you meeting that merchant girl?” he turned to her, his mouth in a cock-eyed grin again.<br />
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“I’m not telling you, Nelum.” <br />
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“She’d the one with the red eyes, right, Ze’Manel’s little sister.” <br />
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“Yes, can you go, I’d like to finish studying,” she gestured to the books still spread before her.<br />
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“Alright, I’ll leave it alone. You should get changed soon, though. Those elves will be here, and Mother is going to want us looking our best.”<br />
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“I’m sure she’ll be by to tell me the same herself soon.”<br />
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He nodded down to the law book, “Then put that away, she really has no temper right now.”<br />
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“Thanks,” she smiled at him, “I just need to write out a few things, then she’ll never know I touched it.”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-46707399278038818152015-01-28T14:43:00.001-07:002015-06-11T17:01:09.291-06:00Ice pt. 5<br /><br />Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/ice-pt-1.html">Ice, Part 1</a><br />--<br /><br />Wilham made his way lightly over uneven stones and debris. The further they went, the worse the condition of the hallways.<br /><br />“Why did you come up here?” Domani finally asked.<br /><br />“To see what was here.”<br /><br />“Father is going to be mad.” <br /><br />
Wilham blushed a little. He seemed genuinely affected each time their father scolded him for disobedience, yet it never seemed to act as a deterrent when new chances for adventure presented themselves.<br /><br />“So don’t tell him, please.”<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />He pulled her down a corridor so dark that both missed their footing and almost fell on unseen stones. <br /><br />“Wilham,” she pulled at his arm as she almost went down on her knees, “please, tell me where you are taking me, or I’m going back.”<br /><br />“No!” he stopped and turned to her, “Don’t. You have to come see it. I’ve never seen something like this.” In the dark she could just make out his round eyes, wide and excited.<br /><br />“What is it?”<br /><br />“Some kind of throne or something, but it’s warm, and it feels strange.” <br /><br />Her brow creased in worry, “Maybe we should leave it alone.”<br /><br />“No. It’s just throne, I think, it’s not dangerous, it’s just different. Please, come see.”<br /><br />“But then we go back down,” she held his hand firmly. <br /><br />“Yes, ok.” <br /><br />He was off again down a hallway, tugging on her arm. A few moments later he ducked under the rotted wood of a wide door, and vanished into a room. She sighed, following after, pulling her hood over her head so her curly hair didn’t catch on the jagged edges of the wood. <br /><br />Inside the room there was a confused moment as her eyes tried to adjust to the light. It seemed there was something glowing, illuminating the space around it. She blinked, rubbing her eyes, and looked at a large, ornate chair, clearly visible in the dark. Another moment as her eyes grew accustomed to the strange light, and it was obvious that it wasn’t glowly, exactly. It cast no light against the floor or the other objects near it. Instead it seemed simply to stand out against the dark.<br /><br />“Wilham?” she said in a whisper, then more loudly, “Wilham, where are you?” <br /><br />He slipped his hand around her arm and leaned against her. <br /><br />“Isn’t it beautiful?”<br /><br />It appeared to be carved out of wood. The base was wide tangle of roots, thin and spindly by the ground, growing thicker as they traveled up to the seat. Even in the dark they could make out the grain of the wood, smooth and clean. The seat was flanked by thick branches for armrests. The back stretched up close to the ceiling, branches blossoming out in every direction, some drooping down, some reaching out. A few twisted around each other as though they were grasping at something together. <br /><br />“Is it ... glowing?”<br /><br />“I think so,” Wilham answered, “it is craft?”<br /><br />“I don’t know how else you could made wood glow like that in the dark.” <br /><br />“Touch it, it’s warm, and it feels,” he let go of her hand, “you should just touch it.”<br /><br />She stepped forward, her eyes tracing the lines that created the roots. If she watched them too long they seemed to move slightly, slowly shifting place. She blinked away the illusion and reached out to touch one of the branches that made the arm rests. <br /><br />Even with Wilham’s warning, the warmth startled her. It felt hot as flesh, and she almost expected to feel a pulse beneath the surface. Her brother came up beside her, putting his hand on the other arm rest.<br /><br />“It has to be craft. Right?”<br /><br />Her hand tingled, not unpleasantly. A few seconds later her whole arm felt some how more alert. She had an urge to do something with it, to sew, to write, to play a string game with her fingers, weaving twine around in new patterns.<br /><br />She pulled her hand away, feeling almost light headed.<br /><br />“Wilham! What is this?”<br /><br />“I don’t know,” he smiled.<br /><br />“I think we have to tell father.” <br /><br />Again her brother blushed, his hand slipping from the wood, “Do we have to?” before she could answer he grabbed her arm again. “If it’s craft can you look at it, in that way, the way Mildon taught you?” <br /><br />“I’m not supposed to do that without Mildon here to help,” she left out how she’d already violated that rule.<br /><br />“Just for a second, then maybe we’ll know more about it.” <br /><br />The tingle in her arm seemed to slowly fade, but not before it slipped up her shoulder and to her spin where it made her shiver. <br /><br />She thought about the hole in the wall, and how close she’d come to it. But there was no hole here, and Wilham there to watch her. <br /><br />“Just for one second,” she loosed Wilham grip and took a few deep breaths.<br /><br />She cast the throne one more look before she allowed the room around her to unfocus, her senses disengaging. The Soundless seemed to fill in around her, bright stillness slipping in to replace the dark of the room. For a few moments she was alone, the steady thump with nothing to disturb it. <br /><br />Again a nervous flutter passed through her, but soon dissipated, and she spread out her awareness to take in those things that shared this space with her. She directed her thoughts toward the throne, and found a slow, steady thrum. Skimming the surface of the object, her awareness felt the same strange charge her body had. Here in the Soundless it penetrated her more, seeping directly into her consciousness, causing her small thump to beat fast and heavy. <br /><br />Something tugged at her, compelling the thump to beat in time with it. The thrum dominated her, and the more the charge filled her, the more detail she could make out in its note. There was something like a breath, heaving in and out, and something that felt to her like a mind. The only time she’d experienced it before was when she’d tried to talk to another crafter through the Soundless. <br /><br />The bottom seemed to come out under her, and she dropped into a spiraling fall, each moment taking her further inside the thrum. Part of her mind reached out for the exit, the path back to the physical world, but she rejected it, wishing to see how much farther the thrum would carry her. <br /><br />An image of something bright and warm appeared in her mind. Now the thrum seemed even more like another crafter to her, the image filling her like a thought given to her by Mildon during one of their trainings. There was a feeling tied to the image, a longing.<br /><br />Inky black tendrils wrapped around her, encompassing the her small thump and separating it from the thrum of the throne. Recognition was instant, Milton, her tutor, had entered the Soundless with her. She sent out one small plee to be allowed to explore more, but it was rejected, and he guided her through the path back to the physical world. <br /><br />Her first thought upon reorienting herself to the dark room was just how angry her tutor would be that she’d violated his instruction. <br /><br />The throne was before her, looking somehow even brighter after she’d viewed it through the Soundless. The long, twisting branches seemed to be inviting her back to speak with it again.<br /><br />“The Lord wanted to know where his children had gotten to,” Milton’s flat tone sounded behind her.<br /><br />“We were just looking around,” she said reflexively, turning to him. <br /><br />In the dim of the room she could just make out the ridge of Mildon’s brow over his dark eyes, and the lines that pulled his face into a scowl. His arms were crossed sternly over his chest, his feet apart in his familiar wide stance.<br /><br />As moments passed and he said nothing, only looking at her, she sighed heavily and fidgeted with her fingers. <br /><br />“We just wanted to see what was up here, do you know what this is?” she pointed to the throne.<br /><br />Ignoring her question, he stared down at her,“Closed off floor. Wandering around the Soundless,” though she could not see it clearly, she imagined his fingers drumming against his arm in his typical way, “One day in this new place and you’ve already forgotten your obligations.”<br /><br />“It’s not her fault,” Wilham was across the room, standing between two objects, both hidden by sheets, “she was looking for me.” Wilham’s voice was quiet, trailing off at the end.<br /><br />“Hmph,” Mildon did not answer him, but stepped forward to look at the throne, “One problem after another in this place.”<br /><br />His posture relaxed slightly, and Domani recognized it as a sign he’d slipped part of his mind into the Soundless. More experienced than she, he could dedicate only part of his mind there, while the rest of his awareness stayed in the physical world. <br /><br />“How long were you looking at this thing?”<br /><br />“I’m not sure,” she answered, pushing her hands down to her sides to stop herself from wringing them.<br /><br />“A while,” Wilham answered, “I thought about trying to wake her up.” He stepped forward, coming to Domani’s side to grab her hand.<br /><br />“It didn’t feel very long,” she said.<br /><br />“I’m sure it didn’t. There’s a lot to see in this thing. You could lose many hours trying to find it all,” his posture grew more rigid, and he turned to them, “It’s for your father to decide what punishment is fit for going where you’re not allowed, but Domani, you should have known better than this. You could have been hurt.”<br /><br />“I -” she squeezed Wilham’s hand and avoided Mildon’s eyes, even though she could not fully see them in the dark, “I’m sorry.” Offering excuses rarely worked with Mildon. <br /><br />“Yes, well, I thought we’d start your sessions back up when things were more settled, but it seems you need a more watchful eye over you. We’ll resume tomorrow.”<br /><br />Domani sighed, “Alright.”<br /><br />“You couldn’t have stumbled on something worse. As if the Lord didn’t have enough to deal with.” <br /><br />“You know what it is?” she asked.<br /><br />“Aye. That’s Matron Wood, cut out of a sacred grove and carved into some idiot’s c<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">hair.”</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-57162958570492034752014-12-18T12:00:00.002-07:002014-12-18T12:22:52.194-07:00Ice pt. 4Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/ice-pt-1.html">Ice, Part 1</a><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-ea6a19fc-5ec5-7d3f-c0cf-7b960ba398b2"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can the fire be any bigger?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani had not minded the cold on the trip - out in the wild, snow and trees on all sides. It had actually been exciting, something to keep her mind sharp. But here in her room she’d expected to have a chance to warm, instead the cold seemed to be penetrating her more, gripping at her bones, making it a labor to do more than sit and shiver. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve already had words with the maids who didn’t think to warm your room for you before your arrival,” Aleanna, Domani’s keeper, carefully took garments out of the travel chest and hung them in a wardrobe, “It will take time to heat a space this big, but it won’t be this cold always. By tomorrow you’ll be toasty in here.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It seems there are a lot of unexpected things to get used to.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani was on her bed, the bedding cold to the touch. She still wore her fur lined coat, but had taken off her gloves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can I help you?” she asked as she ran her hands over themselves for warmth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” Aleanna looked at her with a sarcastic grin, “I’d rather these get put away in order.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aleanna’s light brown hair was done up in a tight bun, and her long, narrow face was flush in the chilled air. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know how to do that.” Domani protested, though she grinned back at Aleanna. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The girls were only six years apart in age, and had formed a fast friendship in the two years Aleanna had served in her role. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You should go, explore a little, get to know your new home. Give this room a chance to heat up.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani stood and walked to another trunk, this one full of texts and writing supplies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I wonder if all my ink is frozen,” she said as she pulled out a vial. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please, let me set things up for you first,” Aleanna put down the jacket she’d been about to hang, and took the vial from Domani, “Give me a chance to put things in order.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Aleanna, is everything alright?” Domani put her hand over the other girl’s. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aleanna laughed softly, “Yes, of course, I just feel... out of sorts. I -” her brown eyes met Domani’s green ones, and she seemed to rethink whatever she’d been about to say, “this is much farther than I ever expected to travel. I think it will help me feel more at home to find a place for everything.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It will make me feel at home when I can walk around in here without a coat on,” Domani wrapped her arms around herself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know they are your things, but I’m the one -”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please, you don’t have to explain it to me, You’re the one who knows what in this mess even fits me. Of course you’re in charge of it. But I’ll stay and help if you want it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“To be honest, I feel since we set out, I’ve not had any time to myself. Time alone to set things straight sounds perfect.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Alright, then maybe I will explore a bit. Maybe I should see what Wilham has gotten up to.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still in her jacket, Domani left her room and walked slowly down the hallway. Here it was even colder, and she shivered. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They have to be able to do something about this,” she said to herself, “how could anyone really live here?” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She traveled further on, out of the wing where she and her brother had rooms, to were the staff rooms were being set up. She hadn’t bothered even to poke her head in her brother’s room, Wilham wouldn’t be sitting still with a whole castle to explore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Servants carried furniture and boxes through the halls. People ducked in and out of rooms, voices echoed off the stones. It was warmer here, people and movement generating heat. Shrill, musical laughter rang out down one hallway, and she followed after it. She turned a corner to find three children weaving in and out of a maze of crates. One popped out the end next to Domani, and she shot a hand out to snatch an arm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Tila, wait. Have you seen my brother?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The girl’s eyes shot up to her, surprise quickly replaced by recognition, “Oh, yeah, he’s around,” she shook her arm, trying to wiggle loose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani took a few steps forward to keep her grip on Tila’s arm, “Come on, where is he? I figured he’d be with you.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Off exploring.” The other kids tagged Tila as they darted by. Tila gave Domani a plaintive look. “I really don’t know, he just headed out on his own.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He told you where he was going, he tells you everything,” she let go of Tila’s arm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fine, look,” she leaned in close, her scraggly red-brown hair tickling against Domani’s face, “he’s gone up to the third floor to have a look around.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Father said -”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, I know what the the Lord said, that’s why Wilham didn’t want anyone to know. Can I go now?” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fine yes,” Domani started to leave, but turned back quickly, her curly red hair bouncing, “how did he get up there?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tila pointed down the other end of the hall from where Domani had come, “There’s a stair that’s only sort of blocked off, he slipped through there.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani navigated the boxes, ignoring the children who tagged her as she made her way to the far end of the hall. Clear of the boxes, and around a corner, she saw the stair. Like all the stairs leading to the third floor of the keep, this had crates and boards blocking the entryway. The masons had declared the third floor unfit for the time being, too many unstable walls and holes in the exterior. Lord Devray had ordered it blocked until it was safe. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Father should have known,” Domani said to herself as she squeezed between two boards, considering just how small her little brother really was, “Wilham would take that as a challenge.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The stairs were in worse shape than the ones that lead from the ground floor to the living quarters on the second floor, and as she ascended the cold grew worse. She pulled her hood back over her hair, thankful she’d not taken off her coat yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the top of the stair she peeked both directions down the hall. No candles had been lit, and the hallway was in deep shadows. The only light was far down the hall, a white glow, and also from that direction, the howl of wind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wilham,” her hushed call seemed to be swallowed up in the shadows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She straightened and stepped further into the hall, this time raising her voice, “Wilham, are you up here?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No answer. With one look back to the stairs, she started in the direction of the light. Some of the wooden doors were broken and hanging at odd angles on their frame. The rooms beyond were impossible to see in the darkness. The light came from around a sharp corner, and when she turned she found a long corridor, and at the end of it a hole, half the height of a man through which she could see blowing snow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you’re here Wilham, please say.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As far as she knew, the third floor extended the whole length of the keep, and Wilham could have gone off in any direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Just as Mildon, her tutor, had instructed her, she loosed her mind of the surroundings, and tried to bring her awareness into the still quiet of the Soundless. Of course, Mildon had also instructed her that attempting magical craft - trying to access the Soundless, was dangerous on her own. She was under strict command to only attempt it in the presence of other, more advanced crafters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This thought was a bump, and small hindrance quickly overcome, as her mind welcomed the Soundless around her. Expansive whiteness surrounded her. The emptiness stretched out into a dizzying distance. The awareness of herself in all of it was only small, a </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump, thump, thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of a heartbeat. It beat faster, frightened and excited, and practiced ritual kicked in. There was an exit, a way to leave, to be again a girl standing in a hall, not some formless thing lost in whiteness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learning to leave safely had been the first thing Meldon had taught her after showing her how to access this place. It was comforting to think of the exit, and the </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump, thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> slowed. But before she could slip fully out, she returned her thoughts to the expanse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With careful, deliberate thought, she made herself aware of the other things that shared this space. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“All things intersect the Soundless</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Here, where thoughts existed in literal ways, the memory of Mildon’s words were a dark black form in the air, a shape that spun around her and carried off into the distance. If she followed it, pushed her will at it, they might lead her to the man. Though it was not that simple. They might just as easily lead her to something else entirely or only float randomly away. She did not yet have the skills to give the thoughts here true form, or to push them to obey her as she wanted them to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She tried to focus on the meaning of Mildon’s words, not getting distracted by their source. In this place there was a thread that could lead to anything in the physical world. Bringing those threads into her awareness enough to interact with them, without being overwhelmed by them, was the greatest challenge in her schooling. Despite the label crafters gave it, Domani had found this place to be overrun with sounds. The harsh, jarring sounds of rocks, like those in the walls around her, the quiet flutter of rain or snow, as was just outside. Too much noise drowned out the </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of self that defined her here, and she would slide out the exit for the safety of the physical world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She focused on one sound, searching in both memory and awareness - the quick, familiar </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that signified her brother. All around there were other thumps, men, women, by the dozens in the keep below. She was able to dismiss them, and search for something closer to her own beat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This exercise she’d done many times under Mildon’s instruction. She’d used the Soundless as a guide to find people and objects, and had relative success, especially with those things she had a close attachment too. But, without Mildon there to guide her, she found her thoughts skittering more than she wanted them too, jutting out in random directions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rocks, which sounded always to be clashing into each other, spanned a great distance between her </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and her brother’s. She slowly dismissed them, trying to take note of their property, the distance they might represent, without getting caught in them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was there, strong and familiar, and her own jittered around in excitement. She pressed the two worlds together, the Soundless and the physical objects around her, creating a guide in her mind for how far away he was, what direction. A strange, slow </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> distracted her, causing her to lose track momentarily of Wilham’s place in the world. She willed her mind not to engage with it, and focused only on Wilham.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her path finally became clear, and she slipped out of the Soundless, and back into the world. With a start, she jumped back, seeing an unexpected sight before her. In her meditations she’d walked almost the whole length of the hallway stopping only a few paces from the hole in the wall. The howling wind pulled at any loose fabric, and made the thick lining of her coat seem insubstantial. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Had she spent the whole time walking, stopping short only out of luck? Or, had she stopped long ago, her body protecting itself instinctually? She knew she’d have to tell Meldon, ask him what had happened. In her practice she’d never walked even a pace before. Pushing thoughts of that unpleasant conversation out of her mind, she turned and walked through the dark halls toward where she was sure she’d find her brother. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a few minutes of walking, she began to doubt herself. Had it really been this far? Was she sure it was Wilham she’d located? Was she even following the </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thump</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of someone on the third floor? Surely in all this emptiness if there was anyone up her with her she would hear them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the dark she tripped over a fallen bit of stone. She went down hard on her hands, and her leg landed on another stone that slammed painfully against her bone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She cried out, and cursed as she turned over, clutching her leg to her chest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Who’s there?” a call rang out along the hallway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wilham, is that you? It’s Domi.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Domi? What are you doing here?” the voice came closer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Looking for you, and apparently falling down.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wilham’s small, birdlike body rounded a corner, and he bobbed quickly over to her. Like her, he still wore his coat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Did you hurt yourself?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No!” she answered, though she was still rubbing at the sharp pain in her shin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good,” he crouched down beside her and offered her a hand, “Come with me, I’ve found something.”</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-78932184110154556432014-12-11T13:12:00.001-07:002014-12-11T13:16:12.569-07:00Ice pt. 3Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/ice-pt-1.html">Ice, Part 1</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Guardian’s cave was lit by sunlight that shone through dozens of imperfections in the rock. Each crack was adorned with a cluster of icicles that held the light, magnifying it and casting it into the many corners and crevices of the cave. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ground too, was covered in icicles, tall, thick icicles that thrust upward into the cave’s cold interior. In the far rear of the cave, so deep that shadows fought against the icy light, an ice flow spanned from ground to ceiling. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy sat in the cave listening to the whispers of his brothers and sisters who had passed into the ice. They were children so old, so full of the ice magics that guarded their home, that they had become rooted to the land, locked into the ice flow at the far interior of the cave. They seeming as cold and unmoving as the river that formed their boarder. But just like that river, deep below the surface life still flowed, and in quiet moments they spoke to their siblings. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They told stories from their time walking the island. They sang songs so old that none outside their world of snow would even remember their name. It seemed they always talked more when the Old One was away. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today their words were different, faster. Their conversation could not be called frantic, or even hurried, but compared to the steady, gradual pace they usually used, it seemed to the boy a flood of words. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a war, or soldiers marching. He was unclear. They might have been talking about the past, or about some possible future, the children in the ice seemed to rarely distinguish one time from another. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Brother?” </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was the youngest one standing at the mouth of the cave. She leaned in slightly, so her face was only just covered in shadows. It seemed she was afraid to allow more of her body into the Old One’s cave. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come, listen to a song.” He beckoned her in. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She placed one foot tentatively in the shadows. “Who is singing?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Your family.” He smiled, his thin pale lips crinkling at the edges.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What are they singing about?” Another cautions step. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A battle, I think. Outsiders warring with each other. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her frame shrunk as she hunched in her shoulders and looked around, even more scared. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He hopped to his feet and ran to her, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her against his chest. He spun her around and around, weaving around ice and tickling her until she laughed and kicked her feet with joy. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The voices paid no mind to their younger siblings playing in the cave, engulfed as they were in other matters. They watched out the eyes of those in the snow. The thin boy in the trees, his long white hair trailing behind him as he lept from branch to branch, became vaguely aware that the frozen children were in his mind. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through him they saw smoke rising from fire, a mar of grey on a clear blue sky.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop, stop! I’m dizzy!”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the cave the boy flopped to the ground and youngest one came to rest in his lap. When they both stopped giggling the echoes of their siblings voices filled their ears. It was louder now that it had been, louder than the boy had ever heard.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t like this song,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, “when will Father be home?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not for a long time, he was traveling far.” </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy did not like the song either. The words were too old to understand, a language so far removed from him that even the craft that linked his mind to his sibling’s could not make it clear. But he heard the fear in it, the tense notes that seemed at any moment to shatter apart. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Outsiders, at the castle.” It was the thin boy, darting into the cave. He folded his legs under him and came to rest next to his brother and sister. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The castle? It’s empty.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not now, there are fires, wagons, Outsiders.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can father come back now?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy looked down to the small girl in his arms, her eyes now more blue than white, her breath no longer fogging the air.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He has a duty,” he explained to her, “and we are safe. Outsiders in the castle will not bother us.” </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the words came out of his mouth, his hands twitched; he longed to see the fires, to see the castle full of life. If not for his little sister, still clinging to him tightly, he would have been out the cave door and halfway to the cliff edge that faced the castle. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their brother was listening to the voices now, swaying gently with them. The tense edge did not leave the song, and a counter song was struck up, discordant to the first. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They are fighting,” the youngest one observed.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both boys nodded in agreement. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It will be alright sister,” the thin boy put his pale hand on her shoulder, “all families fight. They will laughing together again soon enough. Until then, I think we should go look at the castle.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t want to.” She buried her face in her brother’s shoulder. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s alright, we won’t make you.” The boy hugged her and kissed her on the top of the head, “but we will look on our own.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can you take me to the flowers first?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course.” He stood and carried her out of the cave, the thin boy dashing away into the the snow ahead of them. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside the sun reflected off the white ground, a light so bright it obscured the landscape rather than illuminating it. The boy carried his sister through the snow, out of the clearing and up a small hill. Just past the crest of the hill, where it began again to slope downhill, there was a frozen spring. Bubbling water had stopped moving just as it roiled out of the ground. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All around this spring grew tall flowers with white and red petals. He placed his sister next to them and she bent over them instantly, running her fingers over the soft green stems. She whispered to them, and turned her ear to them as if expecting an answer. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Goodbye,” he said as he took a few steps away.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She waved absently at him as he turned to follow the thin boy, who had vanished into the trees. It was a far way to the overlook. The Guardian’s cave was on the southern, narrow, end of the island. The cliff that faced the Outsider’s castle was on the north end, where the island bulge out across the wide river. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the time he caught up with his brother, the smaller boy was perched on a tree branch at the edge of the cliff. Over the edge was a straight drop to the bank of the frozen river. The cliff itself was not rock, but ice, snow, and frozen mud, swelled up in to an uneven mass that formed a wall between the island and the land beyond. Only here, where they could see the fortress, did the water swell into such a barrier. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smoke rose from dozens of fires, and a long line of small black forms went through the outer gates. More disturbing were the figures, the Outsiders, in the field between the massive stone walls and the river. It was hard to tell from this distance, but they seemed to be moving toward the river. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy’s breath quickened and the climbed the tree and crouched next to his brother. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do they come here?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thin boy did not answer.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was an awareness in his mind, the presence of the frozen ones, looking through his eyes. He welcomed them, and reached into their minds for guidance to understand what he saw. Next to him the thin boy wore a matching expression of distant consideration. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Even if they approach the river, they will not be able to cross it,” the thin boy said, just as the same understanding was made clear to the boy. “We should not let them see us.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They are a long way off yet.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thin boy nodded, “Yes, very far off. If they get closer, I’ll go for sister.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They understood which sister would be summoned, the eldest, the one who seemed always to understand the will of the Old One the best.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes. Good. How many do you see?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In the field, a dozen at least. There are probably many more in the buildings.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you think they will stay there, or only pass through, like on the road.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here again the frozen voices spoke. They still seemed at odds with each other, their meaning harder to interpret than usual. They described a time when Outsiders were a constant presence, smoke and fire from the castle rising into the air during days and nights without end. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-49489861559177699072013-11-20T18:13:00.000-07:002015-06-11T17:53:52.904-06:00Blue CoastWriting is rewriting, and in that spirit, I've cleared the ground and started my 'Emma' story over. I plan to salvage some of the old writing, but much of it will be completely new material. Part one starts today. <br />--<br />Blue Cost Part 1<br /><br />Clouds ringed the valley, swallowing the trees and rocks of the upper slopes in a grey mist. Even at noon the sun could not cut through the dense cover, leaving the valley in cold shadow.<br /><br />The statue Emma leaned against was damp and cold, but she paid it little mind. With her eyes closed she took deep breaths, letting the cold air linger in her nose and throat before slowly exhaling. It felt clean, fresh, like she was the first being in the whole world to breath in that particular gulp of air. She thought about nothing as she pressed her back into the statue and breathed.<br /><br />When she finally opened her eyes she looked to the line of clouds moving further down the sloping edge of the valley. It created the illusion that there was nothing more to the world than the green valley walls and the city that rested in its center. There was no sky, no sun, no hint that anything lived outside of the dwin city of Paulderain.<div>
<a name='more'></a><br />That thought brought her mind back to the moment, filled her head with her anxieties and fears. She pushed away from the statue, noticing for the first time the damp marks it left on her red dress. She expected the dress would suffer worse when it finally started to rain.<br /><br />Without the sun it was hard to know exactly how long she'd been waiting. If she stayed out too long she would risk a confrontation with her mother when she returned home. If she was gone longer than her allotted free time she would be subjected to an interrogation about where she was and what she had done. But she had all afternoon before that was a worry, and she was only five minutes from her family's estate.<br /><br />The Laudriel Estate, like the statues that dotted the field where Emma waited, was dwarven, and one of the oldest structures in the valley. From the field the estate was completely hidden. It appeared as if there was nothing more down the sloping valley walls than fields and rocky hills, but ringing the upper slopes where over three dozen Dwarven homes, all hidden beneath the ground.<br /><br />The Velshin Field where Emma waited was the only outward sign of Dwarven habitation in the upper valley. Uneven rows of statues honored some of the dwarves and dwin who had built the city of Paulderain. Dwarves alone would have never built such a monument, but the influence of their dwin cousins had made those in Paulderain more sentimental.<br /><br />Emma was blind to the statues, having spent what little free time she had as a child walking the field, studying the faces - she had long since lost interest in them. Life in a noble estate was strict; it was only two years ago, on her twenty-fifth birthday, that she'd been allowed to go past the fields without an elder family member escorting her. <br /><br />For the first time she’d been able to walk unaccompanied down the long roads that lead to the valley center and wander on her own through the streets of Paulderain. It had been exhilarating at first, and almost overwhelming. The squat buildings of the city were always in the shadow if the Ardent’s statue. The massive construction dominated the scene so completely that Emma had spent many days simply sitting and staring at it.<br /><br />When the novelty of the city began to wear off, she took to wandering unfocused around storefronts and homes. It was on one of those aimless explorations of the city that she had met Rilen, the friend she waited for now. <br /><br />Rilen was late, but Emma didn't mind. With a rainstorm impending, Emma was more than happy for an excuse to stand outside and enjoy the cool, damp air. The stuffy halls of her family estate felt more confining with each month, and she longed for the day when she might leave them for good.<br /><br />The rocky hills covered her view of the road, so Emma did not see Rilen until she rounded the bend that brought the path alongside the field. She wore simple linen clothes and a floppy blue hat that hid what Emma knew was a braided head of black hair. Rilen was darker than Emma by virtue of many more days spent outside in the sun, but both women had the naturally tan skin of dwin. <br /><br />She carried a large sack, the strap slung over her shoulder. The curved wooden tip of a bow poked out from under the flap.<br /><br />Emma waved and gathered her red skirt up in her hand, cursing the garment. Her own brown hair was done in a tight bun on the back of her head to keep it out of her eyes. She ran, quickly covering the distance between them, and wrapped Rilen in a hurried hug. <br /><br />"I'm sorry to be so late, Deem's partner finally made it today, and Parien could talk all day and into the night if you let her. If all human merchants are like that it must take a week just to buy groceries."<br /><br />"So is he still planning to start shipments to Blue Coast?" Emma asked.<br /><br />"If he wins the contact. He hasn't won a bid at the Assembly since partnering with that woman." Rilen rolled her eyes. <br /><br />"Well Blue Coast is a human city, it makes sense to give the contract to someone with a human partner."<br /><br />The girls linked arms and continued walking down the road. Rilen cast a few nervous glances at the cloudy sky, but Emma did not notice.<br /><br />"There are plenty of dwin in Blue Coast, and some of them will have representatives at the Assembly presenting bids."<br /><br />Dark spots formed on the road before them as small drops of rain stained the packed gravel. Rilen sighed and pulled her jacket closer around her. <br /><br />They chatted more as they made their way around the field, Emma asking many questions about Rilen’s brother and his work, some of which she had asked before. She was lost in thoughts of Blue Coast and how exciting it would be to have a job like Deem's that took him so far from the valley. She did not notice Rilen's discomfort, or even the rain which grew heavier each moment. It was only when they reached the treeline that she stopped her rapid series of questions long enough to notice their surroundings and her friend's mood.<br /><br />"Oh, Rilen! We don't have to do this today, you're already soaked." She looked into her friends red eyes and saw for the first time just how distracted Rilen was. She assumed it was caused by the weather. "You hate this kind of rain. Let's go back. We can wait at my house until this passes."<br /><br />Rilen forced one corner of her mouth up in a smile, "You love this sort of weather, Emma," Emma smiled and held one hand out to catch the falling water, "besides, you mother can barely tolerate that we are friends, she would throw a fit if I stomped into her fine dwarven home and dripped rainwater all over her carved floors."<br /><br />"She wouldn't throw a fit," Emma paused, staring at her friend, "she would sit in the corner and silently fume until you were gone. Then she would throw a fit."<br /><br />The girls laughed and Rilen took Emma's hands in hers, "We've come all this way, let's go on. It will be good for you to practice in different kinds of weather."<br /><br />Emma nodded, her orange eyes gleaming brightly, clearly happy with Rilen's choice.<br /><br />Under the trees the steady drizzle of rain was replace with large splashes of water that ran off the leaves. They walked a short distance to the same clearing they came to each time, and Rilen took the bow out of the sack. As she attached the tight string, Emma looked up to the treetops and breathed in the smell of rain.<br /><br />"I don't understand how anyone could hate weather like this,” she commented<br /><br />"How many rainstorms have you been in?"<br /><br />"Counting this one? Eleven." <br /><br />Rilen laughed, "And you're still this enchanted with them? Someday you'll have to get sick of them."<br /><br />"Nonsense, I'll still love this even after a hundred rainstorms." Emma opened her mouth to let the water splash on her tongue.<br /><br />"If you are about done, we could get started. My tolerance of this won't last forever."<br /><br />"Of course, forgive me."<br /><br />Emma hurried over and took the bow from Rilen. The smooth wood felt good in her hand, familiar after only three practices. Emma considered asking Rilen if she could keep this bow and give her friend the money to buy herself a new one. But she would wait until they finished their training to do that.<br /><br />"It will be very different with everything covered in water. You will need to pay close attention to the grip."<br /><br />"That's alright, it was getting too easy."<br /><br />It was not a jest. Rilen had been amazed at how quickly Emma took to archery, already better than Rilen at aiming after such little training. Emma was not the type to be satisfied with being good enough. When she liked something she didn't stop pushing until she'd mastered it; Rilen knew that she would soon have nothing left to teach her friend.<br /><br />At first the rain proved a challenge for Emma, her arrows slipped as she released, missing their mark by a wide margin. But soon she learned to flick the string dry, and to dry her dextrous fingers as best she could before handling the string. This improved her shots greatly, but rain still ran down into her eyes, hampering her aim.<br /><br />Rilen loaned her the floppy hat, and though it keep her eyes dry, the wide brim interfered with her draw. She made a mental note that a good hat would be necessary for serious hunting in the rain.<br /><br />She went through all the arrows Rilen had brought, then gathered them up to shoot again. Two had broken when they struck trees, Emma set those aside. She insisted on paying Rilen for any that broke so her friend did not waste her own money on Emma's pursuits.<br /><br />After she spent through the arrows again she smiled broadly to herself, pleased with her own improvement. <br /><br />“I think I’ll be ready to hunt game next time. What do you think?” She turned to Rilen and guilt wiped the smile from her face. Her friend sat with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her dark braids hanging limply down the sides of her face. <br /><br />"Rilen! Here," she tossed the hat back and hurried to her friends side, "let's been done now. You've humored me more than enough."<br /><br />Rilen put the hat back over the limp braids. "You're already better in the rain than I am anyway, so it's not like I can teach you any more today. Maybe next time we should try for game."<br /><br />"Thank you so much for doing all this," Emma hugged her friend and started to unstring the bow. "Should I do anything to dry it before you put it away?"<br /><br />"No, I'll dry it at home. It's getting old anyway, I should just throw it out and get another."<br /><br />Emma's eyes went wide, "No, don't do that I'll take it, or, I'll buy it from you."<br /><br />"You can just have it if you want. Deem can get me another one."<br /><br />"No please, let me pay for it."<br /><br />They watched each other for a moment before Rilen consented. Coin was tighter than it used to be because of her brother's hardship finding good clients.<br /><br />Together they gathered the arrows and put them back in Rilen's sack. With the excitement of practice over and the novelty of the rain vanishing, Emma truly looked at her friend for the first time all day. There was a heavy look in her eye that clearly went beyond the weather. <br /><br />Emma took up her hands and asked, "Is everything ok."<br /><br />Rilen sighed and shifted her eyes, "Yes, it's just Deem," she looked back into Emma's orange eyes and stopped, looking embarrassed.<br /><br />"Is something wrong? Is it his partner, I know you don't like her much."<br /><br />"No, nothing with Parien. It's only, this bid he is working on, he mentioned it might have more weight at the Assembly if he had a nobel Patron."<br /><br />Her last few words seemed to trail off, and she looked away again.<br /><br />"Who..." Emma paused as she relalize what Rilen was implying, "Does he want me as a Patron?"<br /><br />"Since he teamed up with that human he's lost a lot of friends in Paulderain," Rilen explain, "right now you are about the only noble who will even talk to our family."<br /><br />Emma squeezed her friend's hands tightly and smile, "Rilen, I would love to help you and Deem!"<br /><br />Rilen pulled her right hand away but still held Emma's hand with her left. Both girls started out of the trees and toward the field, heavy drops of rain still pelting down. <br /><br />"Being a Patron is such a huge responsibility, I wouldn't want to make you -"<br /><br />"You wouldn't have to make me do anything, I want to help. Besides," she smiled and squeezed her friend's hand, "if I were Deem's Patron, I'd have to take the trip with him at least once to ensure it was all done in accordance with dwin law and the will of the Ardent." She said the last bit with slight mockery in her tone.<br /><br />"You might not think much of the Ardent, Emma, but if you were a Patron you would have to take it seriously. Failing your duties as a Patron is a crime,” she shook her head, “The whole thing is just a bad idea."<br /><br />"Do you think I can't do it?"<br /><br />"What? No! I just don't want you to take that kind of risk for me and my stone-willed brother."<br /><br />"Rilen," Emma stopped and turned to look her friend in the eye, "I would love to do this. It's just what I've been looking for, a reason, a real purpose to leave this stupid stone city and see someplace new. And you are going to start traveling with Deem's crews, right?"<br /><br />"Maybe in a year or two,’ she shrugged.<br /><br />"Or maybe now. If I were his Patron I could insist, and then we could see Blue Coast together."<br /><br />Rilen smiled meekly, "That does sound pretty amazing."<br /><br />"So will you tell Deem I want to do it?"<br /><br />Rilen walked a short way before answering, they passed out of the treeline and onto the road beside the field.<br /><br />"He'll need to meet with you, go over the specifics. And you'll have to meet Parien."<br /><br />"So that's a yes," Emma smiled, already knowing what her friend would say.<br /><br />"I'll tell him you are willing to talk, but you really should wait until you hear all the details before you make up your mind."<br /><br />Emma wrapped Rilen in a hug, "This will be wonderful. Oh, can you imagine what Blue Coast must look like in person, blue sand beaches and the river rushing into the sea?"<br /><br />All the way back down the road the girls talked about the city, and about what they knew of the route that lead there from Paulderain. Rilen could not muster as much enthusiasm as her friend, but Emma did not notice as she let images of the city and its human inhabitants dance around her mind.<br /><br />When they reached the branch that took the road back to the Laudriel estate Rilen had to interrupt her friend before she kept on down the road toward the city. <br /><br />"You'll let me know when Deem wants to meet?"<br /><br />"Of course. It will be soon, the contract goes up for bid in six days."<br /><br />The girls hugged again and parted ways, Rilen hurrying her pace once on her own, splashing through the puddles that formed on the road. <br /><br />Emma continued home, oblivious to the water that matted her hair to her head and dripped heavily from her dress. <br /><br />--<br /><br />Continue to <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2015/06/blue-coast-pt2.html">Part 2 </a><div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-68364282301913268512013-08-22T15:44:00.001-06:002013-08-22T15:45:11.989-06:00Unweaving pt. 3<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to start at the beginning - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2013/05/unweaving-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Unweaving pt. 1</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin’s friends called the house a few times to check on her. She decided that they must have set up shifts because the same person never called twice in a row. Not that she ever spoke to them. She let everything go to voicemail, and she completely ignored texts. She could imagine them on the phone with each other, sharing their worries, just as she had with them after Caius’ mother died.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0a3277fb-a7f4-32ef-3150-819b1082cb95" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin couldn’t think of anything to say to them, and could imagine only too clearly the things they would say to her. The only thing she could think to do was continue to ignore them.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was another week left of school before summer vacation, but most of her teachers had sent home the work she needed to complete. Mrs. Wayne had made her come in and take her trigonometry final in the counselor's office, but with that done she knew she wouldn’t have to go back to school until September. It would be impossible to ignore her friends for that long, but she would deal with that when she had to. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her parents worked during the day, and Daniel still had to finish his last week of school, so Robin was alone most of the day. Her mother and father were gently encouraging her to get out of the house rather than spend hours alone in her room. She finally agreed to take the dog on a daily walks. She would wait until she knew her friends would be in class, but still early enough in the day that the sun hadn’t cooked away the lingering coolness of morning.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she got home she would put away Cap’s leash and the terrier would trot into his kennel, unsure what to do with Robin intruding on what was usually time he spent napping alone.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went to her room and sat on the floor in front of her bookcase. Each day she told herself she would stop reading Caius’ stories. She knew she was only upsetting herself more. But when she saw them there, knowing he’d written each word on those pages, she couldn’t stop herself.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book she pulled down today had a tan cover and a plastic binding. She flipped through the pages, stopping randomly somewhere in the middle.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was one of his more bizarre stories, about a troupe of traveling actors from Elizabethan times who’d been abducted by aliens and forced to perform Shakespeare for intergalactic dinner theater.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She let her mind get lost in his cramped handwriting, trying to picture Caius’ strange world of fiction. But the words grew fuzzy and hard to read and tears brimmed in her eyes. A tear dropped and smudged the word ‘pantaloons’ and she hurriedly blotted at it, upset that she’d damaged his story.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The shame of it welled inside her and part of her mind knew it was irrational. Caius wouldn’t care about one smudge, he’d written dozens of stories and most of them he’d dirtied with spilled drinks and his own hand running over the pages.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But that small rational voice was drowned out and tears ripped through her. She cast the book aside and lay down on the ground.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she finally got up she was horrified to find it was only 10:30. She still had hours to spend on her own. Maybe she should call someone back tonight. She wasn’t sure she could spend another day by herself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was gathering up her small bit of dirty laundry when the phone rang. She looked at the caller id for a long time before she answered.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi Kyle,” she said, worried that her instinctive response had sounded too cheerful.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not bothering you, am I Robin?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not at all,” guilt twisted in her stomach. It had been four days since the funeral and she had meant to go see the Griffiths, to make sure Oliver was taking his medication at least. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it, to go to that house knowing Caius wouldn’t be there, that the only thing waiting for her where Kyle’s sad eyes and Oliver’s blank expression.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a moment of awkward silence. Her mind spat forth the normal pleasantries of ‘how are you?’ and ‘I hope everything is going ok.’ She bit her lip and held back the words, not sure what to say in their place.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I wanted to thank you Robin, and your family for everything you’ve done for us.” There was a strained geniality in his voice.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh you don’t...it was just,” when she couldn’t think how to respond she just hung her head, holding the phone loosely.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I was going to call and talk to your parents later tonight but I needed to talk to you right away. I’m making some plans and I wanted to know your schedule.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh?” Her mind turned to the days and nights of the summer ahead of her, and of the emptiness they represented.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m planning a little ceremony to say goodbye,” his voice faltered and the geniality wore away in an instant, “to say some of the things that were left unsaid before the accident.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin was confused, she didn’t know there were any ceremonies after the funeral. Her own family didn’t attend church so all the formalities of Caius’ services had been a bit of a mystery to her.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well I’m not doing much. I’m out of school already and at least for now I’m not planning to get a job this summer.” In summers past she’d worked as a lifeguard at city pools, but she hadn’t decided if she would do it this year.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Would you be able to come over some night this week, it would probably take a couple of hours?” His voice sounded less strained.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sure, is it something I should ask my parents about?” As far as she knew the burial was the last thing her family had helped plan.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh no, this isn’t something like that. It’s a family thing.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Any night will work for me.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s great. Then I’ll schedule it for as soon as possible, Rhonda is always so busy, but I’m sure she’ll be able to make time.” Before Robin could ask who Rhonda was, Kyle had moved on, “You should probably eat first, because we won’t have time during the service. And if you could, maybe bring some things with you. Things that meant a lot to you and Caius.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Alright.” She thought about asking what exactly they would be doing, but Kyle sounded more optimistic than she’d heard him in a long time, and she didn’t want to do anything that might spoil it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whatever it was, if it helped him get through his grief, then it was probably good. And maybe it would help her too.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-----</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unable to deal with more structureless days of grieving, Robin decided to call Reagan, one of the lifeguard supervisors for the city pools. He was an easy guy to talk to, always in a good mood. She asked if she would be able to come back and work over the summer and he enthusiastically promised she would get all the hours she wanted. She need to come in and review some of her training, update her certificates, and she could start any time. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though she couldn’t imagine exactly how it would feel to be back out at the pools, she remembered enjoying herself in summer’s past. The idea that she could feel like that again, that she could simply enjoy doing something, made her hopeful for the summer ahead. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She promised Reagan that first thing next week she would be in to do the training. It was only after hanging up the phone that she realized that had been her first conversation in days that had not in some way been about Cauis or her own grief. That made her feel a little happy, but also very guilty. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Thursday Daniel offered to come along to the Griffiths and Robin spent a long time debating if it was a good idea. Kyle had only invited her, though she couldn’t imagine that he would object to Daniel being there. But Daniel was only eleven and Robin already thought going to the funeral had been too much to burden him with.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Caius was my friend too.” Daniel said to her in his calm voice, “I would like a chance to say goodbye.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She had a hard time disagreeing with anything he said in that voice. “I just don’t know how long it will take, I’m not even sure what we’re doing.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“All the more reason for me to be there, so you don’t have to go through some strange ceremony all on your own.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That had made her feel better about the whole thing. She realized the idea of going to Caius’ house, maybe seeing his room again, would be slightly more bearable if Daniel were with her.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sun still hung over the horizon but the blue of the sky was fading into a bloody purple as they walked the five blocks to the Griffiths’ house. Two of Caius’ notebooks rested at the bottom of Robin’s bag. There was also her small silver charm, a rearing horse, hung on a black rope, a present Caius gave her last summer. She had a dozen other things that had mattered to Caius and her, but she thought the books and necklace would be the best.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the sky darkened, heat leaked out of the air. It was almost pleasant, being on a walk with her brother on a nice summer night, if she didn’t think about where they were going.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The yard around the Griffith house was soft and green. Small piles of dirt stood in heaps all along the walk and one large pile sat in the middle of the green grass. The dirk was dry, cooked by the sun over a number of days. Robin remembered something about Kyle putting flowers in and planting a tree. He must have abandoned the work after the accident. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway - a white minivan with a colorful array of bumper stickers. A few were pleasant platitudes about being kind to your fellow man, while others were odd looking symbols and artwork. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You said some lady was going to be here?” Daniel asked. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin shrugged, “Yeah, someone named Rhonda, she’d probably from their church.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She slowed as she approached the front door, looking above it to the window on the second floor that looked in to Caius’ room. It was closed, no light on, just dark squares outlined by window framing. It awakened the hollow pit she’d been somewhat able to ignore for the past few days. She ached inside and felt her happy memories of looking up at that window, anticipating Caius’ bright smile, be pulled down inside the pit, vanishing into painful apathy.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel put his arm around hers. He was not pushy, did not try to crowd close to her - he only slipped his arm through hers and waited. She looked down at him, at his dirty blond hair and felt such relief that she didn’t have to go through this alone. She squeezed his arm close and continued to the door, readying herself for a night of dull ceremony and uncomfortable ritual. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-17521609593405049432013-07-25T15:37:00.002-06:002013-07-25T15:37:26.789-06:00Companions - Updated and unabridgedRecently one of my stories was published in the Niner Anthology <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Had-Stars-Once-Constella-Espj/dp/1926959345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374786675&sr=8-1&keywords=we+had+stars+once" target="_blank">'We Had Stars Once'</a>.<br />
<br />
Though this story has appeared here before, I have decided to post an updated and unabridged version. On this blog I can expand my stories out to fill in my growing 'Divide' universe in a way that is not appropriate for a short story anthology.<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mountains rose out of stony planes,
a long spine of earth and trees that stretched across the horizon. Waning
sunlight cast the mountainside in a pale orange glow. Flat pine needles
reflected the light, washing the forest in false autumn colors.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cutting a path through the trees,
overgrown with moss and creeping vines, was a steep dirt road. The stones that
once lined either side of the trail had slipped away, succumbing to the
incline. In their place ground cover slowly reclaimed the road. The rhythmic
sound of hoofbeats against the ground was muffled by the dense trees all
around. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Two men rode side by side up the
twisting mountain path. Both were young, very close in age, and both had lean
bodies shaped by training and hard labor. In the quickly vanishing sunlight
they slowed their pace.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The taller man sat straight-backed
in his saddle, watching around them as the pale white light of the moon
replaced the sun. A shallow widow’s peak topped his square, serious face. His
untidy hair was a deep black, and it continued down his face into a short
beard. A long blue jacket, buttoned up to the base of his chin, covered his
clothes; its long tales pillowed out on the saddle behind him. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The other man shifted his reins to
one hand and twisted around in the saddle to examine the contents of a
saddlebag. He brushed curly blond hair off his face only to have it slide in
front of his eyes a few seconds later. He wore no jacket or coat over his brown
linen shirt, and its sleeves were pushed up his arm, bunched around his elbows.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The tall man shifted in his seat,
darting his eyes to his companion, then back to the road. After a moment he did
it again, this time sighing in frustration.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We should have reached it by now.
We should dismount before a horse breaks a leg.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The blond man did not look up as he
answered, “The trapper said we should be able to get there before sundown.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“That’s my point, Gipp.” The tall
man stopped his horse.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp looked up, pulling the reins of
his horse, looking into the trees as darkness settled around them. He had
noticed the sunset, but failed to process its significance to their mission.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m sorry, you’re right, Faski. We
should have been there by now.” He slipped off his saddle and resumed searching
in his saddlebag.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We should still press on rather
than make camp. We’ll clear out whoever the trapper saw in the cabin, then stay
there for the night.” Faski dismounted, his face showing no indication if his
mood was playful or irritated as he watched Gipp “Is a piece of fruit really
worth such effort?” He gestured to the saddlebag. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Faski, it was a yellow plum from
Daldurive, I haven’t seen one in years.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Then maybe you should have kept
better track of it.” Faski said, turning back to the road.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The blond man looked up from his
sack, scowling unamused at his friend. He put the sack back in place,
abandoning his search.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I don’t know why you have to be so
serious all the time Faski, it wouldn’t hurt you to think about something
besides our work.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What is there besides our work,
Gipp?” He pulled at the reins that were still in his hands, guiding the horse
to walk behind him.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The blond laughed as he too guided
his horse up the steep road, “Friends, music, dancing. Family. Don’t you think
about your family, Faski?”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And what good would it do? Would it
make me a better swordsman? Would it help me serve Eyila or face her enemies?”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp rolled his eyes, “Sometimes I
think you are beyond hope, Faski.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If it’s any consolation, Gipp, I
often think the same about you.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both men grinned, though Gipp’s grin
was wide and full of teeth, while Faski’s only turned up the very corner of his
mouth.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I was going to share my plum with
you, you know.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’ve had plums before.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not like this.” Gipp’s eyes glazed
over as he remembered the taste of the exotic fruit.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They stopped talking as they rounded
another turn. The road before them narrowed, no longer wide enough for them to
walk abreast. Faski went ahead, Gipp falling in behind. The road was almost
completely worn away here, lost to roots; they had to concentrate to keep their
horses on solid footing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If there is nothing up here worth
the trip, then I think you will owe me yellow plum,” Gipp said after a time,
not comfortable with so much silence.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What, Gipp, you don’t want to stop
and enjoy this mountainside for its inherent beauty and splendor? All you can
see is our goal at the end of this winding path?”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re not nearly as funny as you
think you are.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski’s grey eyes twinkled in the
moonlight, though Gipp could not see them.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both men halted; their horses
shifted, sensing tension from their masters. Faski sniffed the air.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Fire.” Gipp said, “close.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Too close, we should have smelled
it before, seen smoke.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski looked up to the sky, the
bright field of stars unobscured. He pulled on the horse’s reins, hurrying it
up the path. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Is it wise to charge ahead?” Gipp
called, even as he too hurried his pace.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“This is no coincidence, Gipp. The
trapper was right, someone is up here.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After a sharp incline and a short
series of switchbacks that cut across the mountainside, an orange glow appeared
in the trees. A moment later the lowest stars in the sky vanished behind
creeping tendrils of smoke.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pulling his bow from his case, Faski
dropped to one knee to string it before continuing into the forest. Gipp fished
in his mess of saddlebags for his long scabbard, drawing the blade, then
followed Faski into the trees.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Their horses stood together on the
road, trained to wait for their riders to return.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski rarely took off his sword, so
it hung by his leg as they navigated through the dense trees. He gestured through the trees, indicating
Gipp should approach whatever burned in the woods from the left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Don’t attack unless provoked, we
need to find out who they are,” he called in a harsh whisper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp nodded and moved away, his eyes
on the red-orange glow.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The trees thinned into a clearing,
large enough that in the darkness neither man could see the other side. A small
cabin was at the center, its inside filled with flame, smoke pouring out of the
windows.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski stopped at the tree line and
lifted his bow, steadying his aim. He watched the cabin down the shaft of an
arrow, trying to find sign of who had done this.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp left the tree line, aware that
Faski remained in darkness, and moved slowly across the field. The heat of the
fire hit him like a wave, making his skin feel pulled and dry. He lifted one
arm in a vain attempt to block the heat.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The glint of light off metal
registered with Gipp before he saw the form wielding the blade. He dodged the
attack, taking hurried steps backward.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Faski!” Gipp called as he raised
his sword.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski pivoted and the arrow loosed a
heartbeat later.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The attacker slumped to the ground
before Gipp, an arrow through the side of his neck, a hatchet still clutched in
his hand. Gipp’s sword was up in time to block the second man, who charged at
him from the direction of the burning cabin. His wild, undisciplined hacking
was easy to deflect; in seconds Gipp had disarmed him of his shortsword. The
man came at Gipp with his bare hands but didn’t make it two steps before being
cut down.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp cast the fallen men a quick
glance, enough to see that they wore no uniforms and had no distinguishing
marks that he could make out.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When he looked up Faski was in the
clearing, running after more figures. Gipp ran to join him. The heat grew more
intense as he passed the cabin, and the sound of fire eating wood briefly
overwhelmed his ears.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His senses were restored in a moment
and he thought he heard Faski calling to him. He wanted to shout out to him,
but realized it was not Faski’s voice he heard.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He slowed, looking to the cabin. The
sound was clear, behind the crackle and pop of wood being consumed, someone was
calling for help.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Faski!” He yelled, but the man was
already far away, past the cabin and almost vanished into the trees on the far
side of the field.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp thought for only a moment,
weighing his choice. If he tried to save whoever was in the cabin Faski would
face an unknown number of men alone. If he chased Faski, the people in the
cabin might never make it out. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trusting Faski’s superior
swordsmanship, Gipp moved toward the cabin<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-16T10:00">. </ins></span>The
screaming was unmistakable now, multiple voices, high pitched and full of
terror.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Smoke poured out the edges of the door.
Before swinging it wide to whatever might be inside, he moved to a low window
at the side of the door. Peering in, his eyes watering in the smoke, he saw
flames eating one corner of the room. On the far side were three small figures,
huddled together, unmoving except to lift their heads to scream.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He dropped his sword on the grass and
opened the door. The wall of smoke that rushed out was more than he’d
anticipated, slamming against him, stinging his eyes and clogging his lungs. He
dropped into a crouch and coughed heavily, heaving out all the smoke he could
manage. One wall gone to flames, and yellow-orange tendrils inched across the
ceiling. He moved forward, pulling his shirt up to cover his mouth. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “Please, help!” a choking call came from his
left.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The three small figures gripped each
other tightly, their faces covered to guard against the heavy smoke that filled
the room.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keeping his legs bent and his head
low, Gipp moved quickly to them.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Come here,” he pulled the shirt
from his face, “I’ll get you out.” As he approached he reached to lift the
closest figure.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Only one of the three lifted her
eyes to him, a girl. The others kept their faces hidden but they were smaller
than the girl, younger, children.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The girl shook her head and pulled
at her arm. Gipp’s eyes darted to chains around her wrists, holding her to the
ground. Each child had such a chain, and each chain was thick and held in place
by strong iron bolts.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Franticly Gipp tried to think of a way
to lose the chains. His mind fell to his sword, outside; he could use it to pry
the chains from the floor. He was about to run for the sword when a crash
sounded across the room. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A thick beam fell from the ceiling,
smashing into what remained of the furniture in the far corner, and rolled to
rest in front of the door. Flames leapt out, landing on yet unburned parts of
the wall and catching light. The children screamed and Gipp threw his arms over
them to block them from the falling debris. Ash and burning embers filled the
air and landed on the exposed skin of Gipps’ arm and neck. His body tensed with
each burn, but he fought back any other reaction.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp grabbed the closest chain and
yanked at it with his full strength, trying to rend it from the floor. He gave
up after a moment, knowing it was too secure.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The girl looked up at him, her eyes
pleading. He looked at her just a moment, his face unmasked desperation, before
casting another look around the room for a tool. His eyes fell instantly on the
fireplace where a simple cook fire burned<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-16T10:00">. </ins></span>He was
up and across the room as soon as he recognized the poker which had fallen into
the hearth. Flames reached out as he crossed the room, catching his arm. He
pulled back, ignoring the twinge of pain.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heat radiated out from the poker,
warming his hand so the skin turned red, but he gripped it tightly as he
hurried back to the children.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He worked at the chain holding the
smallest child, forcing the poker through the loop that held it to the ground. The
loop spread open, but the child did not move, still clutched to the boy. Gipp
freed him next.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The fire was over their heads now,
embers flew in the air, burning the skin on the back of Gipp’s neck as they
landed. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He pulled the freed children out of
the corner, pointed them to the low window beside the now blocked door, yelling
for them to get out. The two scurried for the window, the boy crouched over the
smaller child to shield against falling embers. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In another moment Gipp had pried
open a link and the girl was free. The fire worked down every wall now, and
danced across the floor at them. Staying low and dodging lines of flames, Gipp
and the girl crossed the room.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He lifted her up to the window as
soon as they were close. She vanished from sight, dropping down on the other
side. Gipp gripped the frame and lifted himself up. Then the air was pushed out
of his lungs and the window disappeared as he was forced to the ground. His
head rang and his back felt as if on fire. He tried to scream, tried to lift
his arms to push himself to his feet, but his body was heavy and his throat
burned with pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last thing he saw was the world
turning from bright orange to a shadowy dark.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">--</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the woods, Faski steadied his aim<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-16T10:00">.</ins></span>
The first man was falling with an arrow in his back by the time Faski took aim
at the second. This time the arrow did not hit center, but struck the man in
the side. He lost his footing, falling, grasping at the shaft.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The third man was moving too
erratically to track with a bow. Faski wrapped his bow around his shoulder and
drew his sword to run the man down. He spared a thought to Gipp, who seemed to
have stayed in the field, maybe dealing with more men.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski’s breath grew heavy as he ran,
his eyes darting between the man ahead and the ground, avoiding any roots or
stones. As Faski closed in on the man he let out a shout, a cry for help. Faski’s
sword came down and the man dropped to the ground.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the last man down Faski looked
at his surroundings, how far he’d come from the cabin, which was now just an
orange glow in the distance. He dropped to the ground, his knee sinking into a
bed of rotting pine needles. He lifted the man, turning him over to see his
face.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What were you doing up here! Why
attack us? Why burn the cabin?” He pulled the man’s face to his own.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moonlight cut through the tree cover
in long, thick shafts. One shaft illuminated the man’s face, now only a maze
blood and skin, collapsed when it fell hard onto a stone. Faski dropped him,
standing and wiping his sword clean on the man’s pant leg.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Gipp!” He called out into the
woods, turning back to the cabin and waiting a moment for an answer. When none
came he called again, “Gipp, where are you?”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He slipped the sword back in its
scabbard, taking hurried steps back to the clearing. A low moan sounded from
somewhere to his left. He stopped to listen, then turned toward the sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sprawled on the ground was a woman
with a broken arrow shaft in her side, her blood leaking out, looking black in
the moonlight. She was the figure Faski had downed. Both her hands were covered
in blood, and blood dotted her lips. Faski’s arrow had hit between the ribs of
her back.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Help, please,” she said, her hand
groping limply at the shaft.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He stood over her, his hand resting
on his sword hilt.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What were you doing up here?”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She looked at him, not lifting her
head, but looked wearily out the top of her eyes.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Magic-crafters, children, we took
them, we wanted to train them to be ours. They were on the road out of
Tavrulan, we took them, killed their escorts.” She coughed and frothy blood
erupted out of her lips.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Children? In that cabin?” He spun
around.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Our scout saw you coming,
recognized you, Eyila little soldiers. We’d rather the crafters dead than in
your hands.” Her next cough was halted, her eyes bulging as Faski’s sword
slipped through her neck.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He ran, as fast as he dared in the
dense forest. The roar of the flames hit him along with the hot air as he broke
into the field. A short distance from the cabin were small forms, huddled
together.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He ran to them, his sword up,
guarding against another attack. When he saw their young faces, he dropped it
in the grass and knelt beside them. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Are you alright?” He asked, his
hands moving from child to child, looking for signs of injury.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They pulled back from him, wary. The
older children shielded the youngest child from him.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The people that took you are dead. You’re
safe now.” His features softened as he spoke to them, his grey eyes warm and
sincere.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The two oldest children exchanged a
look, the boy nodded and the girl pointed to the burning building.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You have to help him,” she said,
“he didn’t come out.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Who?” Faski turned to the cabin,
the flames that ate at the roof so tall they blocked out the sky above.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He stood, looking around the
clearing, seeing a long, metal shaft in the grass, a sword blade that reflected
stars, flame and a cloud of smoke.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The man, the one who got us out.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Man?” Faski didn’t know if anything
could come out of that cabin alive now, then his eyes snapped wide, truly
understanding the girl’s words, “Gipp!”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He ran to the cabin, the air so hot
it felt like his skin was already burning. Fire danced in the windows, through
the planks of wood; most of the roof had collapsed. The door was open, but
burning debris blocked the opening. He pushed at it with his foot, trying to
open a space wide enough to pass through.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Easing through, Faski ripped off his
coat to beat back the flames that lined the doorway.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Gipp!” he called, barely able to
hear his own voice over the roar.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His eyes darted desperately in the
haze of orange and red. A small sight caught his focus, rings of blond hair on
the floor just to his left.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Splayed out on the ground beside the
door was Gipp, a burning beam pinning him to the floor<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-24T09:49"> </ins></span>by the<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-24T09:49"> </ins></span>waist.
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unable to<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-24T09:49"> </ins></span>pull
Gipp out, he wrapped the coat around his hands and pushed the beam<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Hannah%20Wilson" datetime="2013-07-24T09:49">.</ins></span>
The effort strained his muscles and fire spread onto his coat, until finally
the beam rolled to the ground beside Gipp.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He took his friend, holding him just
under the arms, and pulled him toward the door. He kept his head low and walked
backwards through it as fast as he could, flames jumping to his clothes as he
passed.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When he was out in the field he kept
walking, pulling Gipp as far away from the cabin as his strength would allow
before he collapsed in a fit of coughing, slamming his hands into his shirt to
put out the small fires that clung to him.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cold air of the night felt good
in his lungs, clearing out the smoke. When he could breathe again he turned to
his friend, who was face down in the grass, his back a messy pulp of burns and
blood. Kneeling next to Gipp, Faski inspected the wounds, not seeing the burns
that covered his own hands. The firelight danced over the injuries, making them
look swollen and fierce.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A small hand rested on top of his.
He looked up into the round, oval eyes of a young elf. The suddenness of it
shocked him, it was rare to see an elf at all in this part of the world, let
alone a child, who should rightly be in some protected grove of Matron Wood.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“She might be able to help.” It was
the boy speaking, standing just behind the young elf. Shackles hung from his
wrists as he gripped his arms to his chest.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“She can use her craft,” the girl
said, “Rhi can do small healing. She’s cured fevers before.” She stood next to
the elf, her hands on the small child’s shoulders.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Craft...” Faski said haltingly, as
he recalled what he’d been told, “you’re all crafters.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not really,” the girl turned her
head to the burning cabin, “We’ve not learned anything, we were just starting
to practice when those people took us. But Rhi is an elf,” she squeezed the
elf’s shoulders, “she knew a little healing to start.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski nodded, looking to the small
child as he gripped affectionately at Gipp’s shoulders.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Please try, I don’t think he’d
survive the ride back down the mountain.” A hot tear ran down his face,
clearing away the dirt and ash.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The elf nodded, her spindly fingers
moving in the air over the long red gash that ran from the middle of Gipp’s
shoulder blade down to his waist. The strain of it was obvious, the smooth,
graceful lines that made up her round face twisted and bent in pain.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski watched and his hands dug
deeply in the fabric of Gipp’s shirt. One wall of the cabin collapsed, the
crash sounded out, but it was ignored as all eyes watched the elf’s hands work.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp stirred, jerking his head
around and trying to get his arms under him. Faski grabbed him by the shoulder,
trying to gently hold him down. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Don’t move, you’re hurt.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The children?” He managed to say,
still straining to hold his head up.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“They’re here, they’re safe.” He put
his hand on Gipp’s head, “Lay still.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gipp put his head down and closed
his eyes, breathing heavily, but steadily. Faski ran his hand over Gipp’s dense
blond curls and looked at the wounds. Though still extensive and deep, they
were no longer inflamed. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The small elf sunk to the grass and
the other children surrounded her. The boy sat cross legged and lifted the elf
to his chest. Her eyes were closed and her head rested on his shoulder. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faski closed his eyes and exhaled a
long, deep breath and slumped to the ground next to his friend. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The remaining cabin walls came down.
A huge puff of smoke, dotted with glowing embers, rushed upwards into the night
sky, covering the face of the moon.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-85514632722967600152013-07-25T12:07:00.001-06:002013-07-25T12:07:07.319-06:00Unweaving pt. 2<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A weak breeze blew, taking some of the stifling heat off Robin’s skin. The relief lasted only a moment and she was again overwhelmed by the hot air. She squinted up at the pale blue sky, unbroken by clouds.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sat in the front row of the large crowd, glad to be one of the few who had a chair. It wasn’t exactly hard for her to stand, her legs weren’t weak, her head was clear, but still she was amazed her legs were holding her upright. Standing took effort, it took a choice and a resolve, and she didn’t think she had any of that.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-786fea16-1702-ff08-b0d6-8dbe49067710" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All day, from waking up in the dark after a fitful night of sleep to standing here in the cemetery, she wasn’t sure how she did any of it. But she was here, so she must have accomplished it somehow.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caius’s father sat on her right, the chair the only thing keeping him partially erect. He was folded over himself, his head hovering near his knees. Robin wasn’t sure if he was listening to the minister’s words. His wide eyes stared straight at the ground, unmoving.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A hand brushed across Robin’s back and came to rest around her arm. She looked to her left and into her mother’s blue eyes. Her mother squeezed her tightly and Robin lowered her head onto her mother’s shoulder, tears pressing in her eyes.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a long moment she let herself feel nothing but the comforting pressure of her mother’s arm. Then a sob started in her chest, a clenching fist that rolled up through her middle and into her throat. She stifled it before it flew out of her mouth and a she exhaled sharply. The effort to keep herself quite forced the tears from her eyes and she turned her head so her face was completely covered in the soft fabric of her mother’s shoulder, reaching her hand out to grasp at her mother and feeling arms engulf her.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She did not attempt to calm herself or regain composer. Still it did not take long for the wave of grief to pass. The sharp pain that stabbed inside her dulled on its own, replaced by the deep emptiness that had lingered inside her from the moment they told her Caius was dead.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All her emotions were swallowed up in that pit, even her grief, and it left her feeling weak, insubstantial. She tried to imagine how Caius’ family felt, how his father and brother would make it through this tragedy so soon after losing a wife and mother. But sympathy and concern got eaten by the emptiness and all she could think of was her own loss, the long days ahead without him.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the funeral Caius’ coffin had been closed. She wasn’t sure if she was glad for that or if it was some horrible injustice that she hadn’t been able to see him one last time. She felt strange being singled out at the service, being one of the people to receive sympathies and condolences. Caius had been a son and a brother, what was a meager word like boyfriend next to that.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he’d felt like so much more to her, more than a boyfriend. She’d looked up at the picture next to the coffin and reflected how lacking it was. It made his tight black curls look flat. It showed nothing of the bright gleam in his green eyes when he talked, or the way his soft mouth curled playfully.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wanted to see those things again, to put her hands through his hair one more time and feel the firmness of his cheek. But she was also afraid, afraid that the boy in the coffin wouldn’t be Caius. That it would be some physical thing, some object with nothing of her closest friend remaining.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin did not notice when the minister stopped talking, she only heard people around her standing and shuffling around. She took a few deep breaths of the hot, stuffy air. She wanted it to be cold, for a wind to bite at her skin and let her feel something. Instead she was awash in murky, suffocating heat.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She lifted her face to her mother’s and they held each other’s gaze for a long moment. She knew her own blue eyes must be red and puffy, but her mothers were dry. Still, a heavy weight of sadness pulled at them as she studied her daughter.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother gestured with her eyes, behind Robin, then looked at her daughter again. Robin nodded and squeezed her mother’s hand. She took a deep breath and stood up, her mother standing with her, a supportive hand on her back.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kyle Griffiths still sat, his head hanging limp between his knees, his hands clasped together tightly. He had Caius’ black curls, but even before his recent hardships, had never shared his youngest son’s sanguine attitude. That light, optimistic nature Caius had gotten from his mother, and when she died last year he had been the only thing bringing any joy to the morose Griffiths home. Now it would just be Kyle and his oldest son, Oliver.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oliver sat next to his father, his face an expressionless mask. He looked so much like his brother. They had the same strong chin with a slight dimple in the middle, the same curving cheeks and green eyes. But Oliver’s features were more bulky, more masculine than his brother’s. Robin has always found it odd how the two boys could be built to look so much the same, yet their expressions were always so different.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caius couldn’t help but smile, lifting his whole face in bright excitement. But Oliver looked often as he did today, unmoved and unaffected by the world around him, his face a stern, unreadable block.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A slight wind picked up. Robin was grateful that her blond hair was done up tight in a bun, letting the wind whip across her bare neck and carry away some of the heat.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She reached her hand down, putting it lightly on Kyle’s shoulder. He looked up at her, his brown eyes had a longing look, searching for something. She dropped to her knees next to him and reached out to wrap her hand around his clenched fists. She stayed with him like that, her mother standing to the side, as people filed past, some muttering condolences, others trying to speak more formally to him, but giving up when he did not respond.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His eyes shifted from Robin to the ground and back again, avoiding the crowd around him. Oliver received everyone, shaking hands, nodding mechanically, his expression immobile except for his eyes, which met each person in turn.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin tried to avoid the eyes of the people around her. It was mostly people from school, Caius’ friends and hers. She didn’t want to see them, didn’t want to think about their life and their happy times together, only to have those memories swallowed into the emptiness inside her. So she kept her head down, watching Kyle.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin’s mother and father had done all they could to help the Griffiths with the funeral. Both men had been in a daze since Caius had died and had no extended family to assist with the procedures and formalities. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She looked up to watch her father. He stood next to the young minister, who looked even more diminutive than his twenty-three years as he stood next to the broad, towering figure of Paul Mayfield. The two men nodded and gestured toward Kyle.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel, Robin’s little brother, left his mother’s side to join their father. He said nothing, just listened as the men talked about procedures and the business of funerals. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soon cars were pulling away and the cemetery around them emptied. Wind blew tree branches and long black shadows danced over the tombstones. Around them the workers from the funeral home where gathering the folding chairs, polity avoiding the two still occupied by Kyle and his son. One of the workers joined her father and the minister and the three of them talked.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Kyle,” her mother said, “we can take you when you’re ready.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin sighed deeply. She knew the wake was next. Everything was set up at Caius’ church. There it would be even harder to ignore people; they would all be snacking and chatting, reminiscing about Caius, about his performance on the basketball court or the silly stories he was always writing. They would try to pull her into the conversation, try to help her feel better.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She at Kyle and knew he must be thinking the same, that a room full of well wishers was the last thing he wanted right now.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I was thinking, maybe,” she looked into Kyle’s weary eyes, “that you guys might like to go straight home.” Robin suggested.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oliver turned at that, not saying anything but nodding slightly.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That would be nice, I’m just not sure I can...” Kyle looked down at the ground again.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oliver stood and held his hand out for his father. Kyle released Robin’s hand and took his son’s, resting heavily on Oliver are as he pulled himself to his feet.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ok, we’ll join you in just a sec, we’re just going to get Paul,” her mother said as they walked to join Robin’s father.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kyle and Oliver walked to the car and her mother leaned in close, whispering harshly in Robin’s ear. “They don’t need any more time alone in that house.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It won’t be any better for them at the wake,” Robin countered, “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was almost too much for them,” she swung her arm out, gesturing to the cemetery, “and they didn’t really have to talk to anyone. What would they do at the wake?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“People would understand, Robin, they would leave them alone.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Right, so they would just sit there, not saying anything, not doing anything. They might as well be home where they can be somewhat comfortable. And then maybe, you could take me home after your drop them off,” she added weakly.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They had reached where her father still stood with the minister and the funeral director. Daniel came forward and reached out for his sister’s hand. She took it without thinking, barely looking down at him.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It should be four weeks. We’ll let you know when it’s shipped. Usually the placing ceremony is much smaller, just family.” The funeral director cast a quick eye to Kyle as he climbed in the car.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They are talking about the gravestone,” her mother whispered to Robin, unnecessarily.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul looked over to his wife and children then reached his hand out to the director, “Thank you so much,” his massive hand wrapped around the man’s smaller one, “I’ll be in touch about the details.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll see you at the church,” the young minister said to her father.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We are taking Oliver and his dad home,” Robin said, “They were getting pretty overwhelmed.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, do you really think that’s best?” Her father asked.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“People will be expecting them at the wake.” Her mother added.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The conversation became too much for Robin, talking about formalities and other people’s expectations. The heat beat down on her, making her head feel like it was packed with hot coals. She felt blood rush from her head as she swayed to the side. Her mother steadied her and worry flooded her face.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe it would be best if we skip the wake,” she said to her husband, “I think this day has been long enough.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you think it’s ok Ellen, then you should go ahead. Maybe I’ll hitch a ride with Minster Wolcott to the wake and make apologies.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin didn’t really listen to anything more, not even looking back up at her father as they turned to leave. Her stomach was upset and her head still felt unbalanced.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the drive to the Griffiths house her mother had tried to say a few small pleasantries, about how peaceful the cemetery had looked, about how lucky they were it hadn’t rained. But after a few blocks of only receiving grunts and nods in response, she gave up.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin wished it had rained. Rain would have felt right, and at least it would have been cooler.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They pulled up the Griffiths’ driveway and part of Robin wanted to get out and walk the men into their house. She thought about making sure there was something planned for dinner and that Oliver took his medication. She knew Caius had usually done those types of chores.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the emptiness pulled inside her, taking away her will, her empathy. All she could do was watch the men walk slowly to their door, not talking to each other, barely looking at each other.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe her mother had been right, maybe some time at the wake surrounded by friends would have done them good.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She felt guilty. Had she used Kyle and Oliver as a way to avoid going to wake herself? Somehow that guilt didn’t fall into the pit inside of her, it floated around her mind, making her upset stomach even worse as they drove through the winding streets of their neighborhood.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’d walked the road between her house and Caius’ countless times. Though, recently he had walked the distance more often. He wanted to get out, to be free of the oppressive sadness that hung over his family.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After his mother had died, Robin was the only person Caius could really turn to. His own grief and loss just added to the burden his father was carrying, so instead of sharing it with his family, he’d turned to his best friend.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They would sit in her bedroom, sometimes talking, more often not. He would cry and bury his head in her lap. She would run her hands through his hair and hold him close. Sometimes he would write, scribbling his small, cramped handwriting on to page after page in his notebooks. Robin never asked to see those stories as she did his others. She knew they were something he wrote just for himself, something he would have a hard time sharing, even with her.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother pulled into their drive. Robin got out of the car the moment it came to a stop and walked quickly to the front door.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Robin, will you be alright?” her mother asked, “I think I might make sure your father doesn’t need any help.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll be fine mom.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll stay here.” Daniel said, holding the front door open for Robin. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother walked across the yard and put her hands on Robin’s shoulders. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robin put her hands on top of her mother’s, squeezing them lightly. “It’ll be ok. I’m just going to take a shower and maybe a quick nap.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Alright honey.” Her eyes said that she didn’t really want to leave, but that she would respect her daughter’s wishes.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel held the door open for his sister and followed her up the stairs. Robin walked into her room, with the intent of stripping off her black dress and climbing in the shower, but instead she found herself on the bed, still clothed, her arms wrapped around her blanket.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wasn’t sure how long she laid there. She must have dozed because soon she was being roused by a disturbance on the bed. She opened her eyes to see Daniel climbing into the bed with her. He had changed into a jeans and green tee-shirt.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He pulled the blanket out of her arms and crawled up next to her. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He folded his hands so they pillowed under his head. She gave him a strong hug and inside her chest a small warmth blossomed. It stayed there, not falling into the emptiness as she fell back asleep.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-6115864770335454922013-05-02T10:40:00.001-06:002013-07-25T12:06:00.605-06:00Unweaving pt. 1<b id="docs-internal-guid-53653474-661d-57db-d74a-abd1b31ac599" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The cars on either side of her crawled forward.. The sun had yet to burn through the gray cloud cover, and the lack of sunlight left Aubrey lethargic. She shifted in her seat, trying to stretch her muscles and get blood flowing to her head.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This early on a Saturday morning she’d expected to have the road to herself. She tried to think if there was some sort of game in town, some reason the roads were full, but her sluggish brain could do little more than focus on working the pedals in the car.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She stared absently out the windshield, her eyes barely focused on the line of cars making its way down the street. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It had been three in the morning when she finally climbed in bed last night, and she’d only done that because she could no longer see the words on her computer screen without her head throbbing in protest. She’d promised herself she would sleep for only a few hours, just enough to clear her head, then wake and finish the assignment. Only four hours later she awoke, intent on finishing the essay, but found herself unable to work. After half an hour of staring at the screen, barely able to understand what she’d written the night before, she abandoned her room, hoping a change of scenery would help her regain her focus. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wanted to do some real work, accomplishing a few things at the office, hoping that would give her the momentum to finish the paper. But now, sitting in a nearly still car, staring blankly into a gray morning, she thought she’d probably made a mistake.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Too late now,” she said to herself.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a different day she might have honked her horn, or jerked the wheel, looking for side streets; Aubrey Payne was not known for her patience, but those sort of outbursts took energy, something that was in short supply today. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A dull ache crept across her forehead and rooted itself behind her left eye. As she finally pulled into the parking lot she put her hand on the side of her head, pressing her palm against the pain. She sighed when realized she didn’t have any painkillers at the office. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She slammed the car door and the sound echoed against the storefronts, most still closed at this hour. The hairs on her arms stood up in the cold air and her dark brown skin rose up in goose-pimples. The weatherman had promised the heavy rain that had blanketed Billings for the last week was finally coming to an end and the heat of summer would make a surprise entrance. It seemed his prediction was premature. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wore a gray tank-top and the same pair of jeans she’d worn to school the day before. Her thick, dark hair tickled the back of her neck; it had grown longer than she liked, now almost touching her shoulders, but she hadn’t found time to cut it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The strip-mall where her mother rented office space looked particularly bleak on this overcast morning. Many of the storefronts were vacant, blank signs, their framework exposed, hung over shuttered doors and windows. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Payne Investigations was tucked in the corner space, right between a cellphone retailer and a vinyl record shop. Aubrey was always happy to arrive before the vinyl shop opened; the older woman who ran it often stopped her to chat about declining sales. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aubrey opened the back seat and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. She’d packed her books and laptop with the intent to finish the history essay at the office. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The office lock was sticky and required both hands as she held it in place and jiggled the key, trying to get it to rotate. Her backpack slipped off her shoulder and jerked her arm down. It banged into the door and she winced, hoping a book made the impact, not her laptop. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lock clicked open and she pushed the door, slipping in and quickly closing and locking it behind her. She left the lights off so no one passing by would assume they were open. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The space was void of most of the useful things one would expect in an office. A lone desk sat against the wall, most of its surface taken up by a monitor and keyboard. There was a floor lamp next to it so Aubrey and her mother could avoid turning on the harsh overhead lights as much as possible. The rest of the furniture in the store served no purpose in their business. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’d been renting for two months and had gotten a great price on the storefront. Her mother was so excited to find good space at such a rate that she gladly agreed to dispose of the debris left behind by the previous occupants. The video rental shop that occupied the space before them had gone out of business nearly three years ago and the store had been vacant since then. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Display shelves still hung on every wall. Her mother had joked that if they couldn’t take them down they could use it to house equipment, but when they’d taken off one section only to find the wall behind it crumbling and in need of serious repair it became harder to laugh about. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’d moved most of the remaining retail furniture into a clump behind the counter, which was affixed to the ground and wouldn’t budge. The furniture sat in a disorganized pile for a week while her mother tried to contact people about selling it or disposing of it. When nothing seemed to come of that Aubrey had taken it upon herself to stack the furniture in such a way that it took up as little floor space as possible. She’d been quite proud of it at the time, amazed at how she’d been able to collapse so much material into such a small space. But as the weeks dragged on her mother’s attention was occupied mostly by their caseload and securing new clients. Aubrey was sure her mother didn’t even see the mess anymore. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wished she could do the same as she walked into the store, but her eyes pulled without her control to what now looked unsightly and disorganized. She briefly played with the idea of moving things, if only so her mother might notice the change and remember it was all still there, but the unwritten essay hung in the back of her mind. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As she passed the counter she unconsciously clenched her jaw, only noticing when the pressure of it sent a stab of pain through her skull, transforming the ache into a lancing pain. She stumbled and grabbed her head. The pain lessened after a few seconds.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why do I do this to myself?” she asked the empty office. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The essay was due on Monday, and Sunday was her father’s day with her. With the weather possibly getting nice, he would want to drive to the country, try to fish. She would have little chance to work on the essay then.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She set her backpack down on the desk and saw a blinking light on their voicemail. She forgot the pain in her head and pulled the notepad out of the desk’s top drawer. Each page was a form with space for case and client details. As spacey as her mother could be about getting the office in order, she was rigid and stern about keeping detailed case information.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The voicemail was a standard case, a manager looking for someone to run a background check on a possible new hire. Her mother would be happy, these were the sort of steady, reliable clients a private investigator relied on. She jotted down the important details while absentmindedly inspecting the framed photo of her mother at her academy graduation, her blue uniform clean and new. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next she cleaned up some case notes, looking up data on a few outstanding individuals, and getting things organized for her mother on Monday. While Aubrey could do a lot of the database work, only her mother could really do the leg work or surveillance. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was nearly nine before she finished it all, but she had been right that accomplishing something would clear out her brain. She felt more energized than she had in days. She set up her laptop and opened her essay. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She knew what she wrote was pretty bad. She didn’t bother to look up the exact information or site anything correctly, instead she put placeholders in the text, getting the main body of work out with the intention to go back and fill in details later. That was the only way she felt she could get through almost ten pages of writing in one sitting without losing her mind. If the end result was a C paper at best, that was still more than enough for her to pass History and graduate on time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her cell phone rang while she was working on the closing paragraph. She cursed and typed harder, slamming her fingers into the keys. Each mechanical chirp of the phone grated at her more, bringing back the painful ache in her head. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just before the voicemail could catch she snapped the phone up in her hand, barking harshly in the receiver, “What do you want?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I hope you’re not answering the office phone like that,” her mother answered.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry, I was working on something.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I got your note. Why’d you go to the office?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I just thought I’d concentrate better here.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Judging by that tone it worked. Did you finish your paper?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aubrey rolled her eyes. Her mother rarely intervened in her schoolwork, but the few times she did it made her feel like a child. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah Mom, it’s almost done. I’ll need to clean it up, but I was going to do that after I go fishing with Dad tomorrow.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She looked over the last sentence she’d typed, seeing at least three typos. If the whole paper was that bad it would take her a long time to clean it up. She sighed heavily. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s what I’m calling about baby, I don’t think I want you to go fishing tomorrow.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You and me both, but I’m sure it’s what Dad will want.” She pressed her hand into her forehead.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Have you read the news today?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Been busy.” She didn’t like being so terse with her mother, but she didn’t have the energy to play nice, and her mother understood her moods better than most people. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A boy drowned in the river last night, and another one was almost killed. It’s just horrible.” She paused and Aubry said nothing, trying to run her eyes over a paragraph“All that snow-melt from the winter, and now this rain all spring, the river is just too dangerous. I don’t want you near it.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll take any excuse to not fish.” </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It seems one of the boys went to your school.” </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, what was his name?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t know. They will probably do a more detailed story tomorrow.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aubrey wanted to say more, but could think of nothing. There were thousands of kids at her school, the chances it was someone she even knew where slim. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ok, well, I’ll tell Dad it’s just movies and pizza tomorrow.” She thought that he might even let her work on her essay while the watched some movies. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a pause while her mother sucked in a deep breath, “I can tell him, after all I’m the one who -”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aubrey didn’t let her finish, “No Mom, I’ll do it. It’s cool.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ok, thank you baby. When will you be home?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t know, at least an hour. I should really do more work on this.” She rested her head gently in her hand, dreading looking over the words on the page. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“See you then.” </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yep, bye.” She hung up. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turning back to the paper, Aubrey was able to proof read almost half of it before frustration and exhaustion overwhelmed her. She opened a browser to glance at the Billings Gazette, just to see the details of the story so she would know what to tell her father. There were still no names, just one body pulled from the river and another boy who was still in the hospital. She wasn’t sure where her mother heard one of them might go to her school, but her mother often got information from her old friends on the force. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-03cb553b-1701-c2ff-703f-002322d5e5d2"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She packed her bag quickly, intent on going home and napping for at least a few hours. She cast the pile of furniture one last angry glance before locking the door behind her. Maybe when school was out she’d make it her goal to get someone to haul the junk away. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-66490035557380558992012-12-13T13:48:00.000-07:002012-12-13T13:48:08.534-07:00Emma, pt. 16Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Emma, pt 1.</a><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.790208020946011" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil’s feet made no noise as he walked through the wet grass. Emma lightened her step to match his so her own feet slid over the damp ground noiselessly. The light of the fire behind them was a harsh glare on an otherwise dark landscape. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A cold breeze raised goose-pimples on her arms, and she regretted leaving her jacket in the tent. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil lead her down a slope so the camp was above them. Tents and horses vanished over the lip of the hill, followed by the fire so only an orange glow in the air remained. He kept walking, not speaking, keeping his eyes on his footing. When even the faint light of the fire began to fade, unease rippled through Emma’s gut. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How much farther?” she asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil stopped and turned back to the camp, then to Emma, looking her up and down. He crouched down, resting one hand in grass. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We can stop here.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma looked at him for a moment, waiting for him to say something. Even though there was little light, Emma’s sharp dwin eyes could pick out most of Sil’s features: his blue eyes alert, his small chin set as he clenched his jaw. He looked up at her and jerked his head down, indicating she should settle in the grass next to him. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sighed heavily and shook her head, “It’s soaking wet.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked at the grass as if noticing the dampness for the first time. He pulled his jacket off and spread it out, gesturing curtly at it when he was done. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil what is this about?” Emma asked as she sat sat uneasily on the coat, crossing her legs. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He remained crouched, looking around the darkness as he spoke.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I just wanted to make sure we weren’t overheard. Deem and Parien ordered those of us who know to keep it to ourselves.” A conflicted expression passed across his face, then he looked Emma in the eyes, “I don’t like going against orders, but there were higher duties to think about.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Higher duties? Sil, you aren’t making any sense.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What do you know about Emissaries?” Even as the last word was coming out of his mouth he waved his hands at her, indicating she should not answer him, “What you are, a Patron, that makes you The Ardent’s Emissary, the way I see it. It makes you an Emissary of one of the gods.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma scowled. Of all the things she thought he could have dragged her out her to talk about, The Ardent and gods were not on the list. She decided to try and take control of the conversation. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil, you made it sound like there is something Deem is keeping from me. What is it?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil looked confused but kept talking, not making any other indication that he’d heard her, “I know about Emissaries, about what it means to have such loyalty.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She reached out and gripped his arm and he started, blinking at her. </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please, just tell me what Deem is keeping from me.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Matron Wood,” Sil said, jerking his head to the north, to where the Red Iron Forest sat, hidden in the dark. “There are men in the forest, poaching it, they need us to transport it to Blue Coast for them.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Matron Wood?” She shook her head and pulled her hand from his arm, “Deem wouldn’t. It’s illegal.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Illegal under dwin law, but it’s traded in dozens of human cities.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But it’s a home, elves </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">live</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Matron Wood groves. Or, at least some of them do. They wouldn’t let someone cut it down.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Red Iron is full of abandoned groves, maybe dozens of them. The elves left the forest generations ago after the treaty with the Mahyaran.” Emma tried to recalled what she knew of the conflict, but Sil continued talking, drowning out her thoughts, “Blue Coast allows the trade of Matron Wood, but some of the elven citizens, as you can imagine, do not like that policy. They form something of a militia and watch incoming traffic for poachers.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Questions sprang to Emma’s mind, one after another. How long had this poaching been going on? What did it do to the elves who had been born of that wood? Why would anyone cut down Matron Wood at all? They rolled in her mind as she stared into Sil’s blue eyes, but in the end there was only one question that mattered.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s why Deem wanted me as a Patron, isn't it? He wanted me and not someone experienced, someone older or more knowledgeable about trade, because he thought he could hide it from me.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil did not answer right away, he watched above Emma’s head, up to the faint glow of firelight atop the hill and spoke without looking at her, “He didn’t want a Patron at all, not with this business, but he had no choice, he though his contract wouldn’t have been accepted otherwise.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why are you telling me?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Because he didn’t, he keeps letting Parien talk him out of it. But said he would, from that first night he said we should tell you, that you’d know better than to let dwin customs get in the way of business.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But this isn’t custom,” Emma was startled by how loud her voice was and glanced around her, afraid it had been heard. Sil looked down at her and she continued in a controlled tone, “Elves need Matron Wood to have children, taking a grove from them would be like cutting an organ out of a person.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil considered that, “Some would say that clearing an abandoned grove would do no harm. Elves can always create new groves if they need them.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma shook her head in confusion, “I thought you were telling me this because you know what they are doing is wrong.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, I know it’s against dwin law, against the will of the Ardent, and you are the will of the Ardent, Emma. You had the right to know.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A heavy weight pulled at Emma’s middle, like she’d swallowed a stone. For a moment she imagined the heavy hand of the Ardent, its huge fist balled tight. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She watched Sil, turning over everything she knew about elves and Matron Wood and their journey. Sil did not speak, maybe waiting for her, eventually looking away, his eyes resting on the edge of the hill. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m sorry,” Emma finally said, “I just don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can’t help you with that.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma laughed scornfully, “Then why tell me at all?” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil looked confused, “I just said. Because -”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She cut him off, “Yes, because I’m a Patron and you thought I deserved to know, but what am I supposed to do with that? Do you think I should turn Deem in?” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not an Emissary to your god. I don’t know what he would expect of you, what duties you have to him.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was an edge to his tone, a passion she had not heard in him before. If only to distract herself from thinking about Deem, about the choices that lay ahead of her, she questioned him about it.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil, what is this to you? Why do you care so much about my duties and my god?” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s what I tried,” he stopped for a moment and pursed his lips in frustration, signed quickly, then continued, “I tried to explain it to you, before. I know about Emissaries, about gods, about what it means to dedicate your life to something so great.” He was flustered, his words halting. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil?” Emma wanted to reach out a hand to him, but was unsure he would accept it.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His eyes still looking above her head, he dropped his knees into the damp grass, “I was an Emissary to the god Necba, a long time ago.” He spoke the god’s name so quietly Emma wasn’t sure she’d heard it right. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The silence that hung between them felt heavier than before and Emma wanted to be able to respond, but found no words. Soon she hoped Sil would say something, or failing that, that he might go back to camp and leave her alone with her thoughts. Instead he shifted on his knees, still looking around into the dark.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How do they plan to get past the elves?” Emma finally asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There are no elves in Red Iron anymore.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” Emma shook her head, “In the city. You said there were elves that watched for anyone transporting Matron Wood. How does Deem plan to get by them.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil nodded in understanding, “Right,” he pushed up off his knees and onto the balls of his feet, crouching again, “well, they won’t check us, will they.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What, just because some of us are dwin?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A dwin overseer and a dwin Patron, they know the Assembly wouldn’t allow such a group to transport Matron Wood.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And they will just look at me and know I’m a Patron.” In her experience elves could look at you in way that made you feel naked and exposed, but they weren’t capable of reading minds.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They don’t wait at the city gates inspecting goods. They have spies among the gatekeepers telling them what goes in an out of the city.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And they won’t tell the elves that we have Matron Wood?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, we aren’t going to leave it hanging out for everyone to see. But they aren’t going to look too closely either, not with our papers.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Deem was going to tell me?” As Sil opened his mouth to answer, Emma spoke over him, her voice high again, “Does Rilen know. She couldn’t know, she would have told me.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He didn’t want to put her in a position to keep something from you.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You mean he didn’t think she’d lie for him.” The uncomfortable weight in Emma gut lightened by a fraction when she realized that she was not alone in this, that she could consult Rilen. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How many others know?” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“All of the old crew, and a few of the people we hired in Paldurain.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wanted to ask more but pressure pushed at the back of her throat, the feeling of tears about to form on her eyes, and she didn’t want to sit in a dark field on Sil’s wet jacket sobbing. Her hand darted to her eye, wiping away tears that had not formed, and she stood up. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I need to go back, I need to think about this.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She lifted the jacket from the ground and handed it to him. He pulled it over his arms, seemingly oblivious to the damp that had soaked through it. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To climb back up the slope Emma had to bend down, reaching her hands out to steady herself as her feet tried to find purchase in the wet grass. Sil walked next to her, also seeming to struggle with the incline. After they’d been climbing for a few minutes he lifted his head, surprised by something.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Emma, I think we should go that way a bit,” he gestured off to the right. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was about to comply when she heard a clear, high voice, it carried over the edge of the hill and she tilted her ear towards it. It only took a moment to recognize it as Parien, and she keep saying Emma’s name.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We’re at the wrong end of the camp,” Sil said, “we’ll come up right at the fire here. We should go -”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma waved a hand at him and climbed further, bending down closer to the ground so her head wouldn’t be seen over the lip of the hill.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seeming to understand Emma’s intent, Sil flattened himself against the ground and climbed after.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The red-orange glow of firelight spilled over the grassy hill, obscuring the starry sky above. She rested on her elbows, stopping to listen. At first the voices were coming too fast for Emma to follow but as she put names to voices, picturing each person in her mind, it became easier to follow. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There are other things to consider, I will have to do business in Paldurain again.” There was an angry tone in Deem’s voice that Emma had not heard before. She felt a chill when she tried to picture his face.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Once we are done with Akarn and his woodcutters we will not need to go back to that valley.” Parien sounded as unperturbed and airy as ever. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That valley is my home.” The anger in Deem’s voice hardened into something commanding.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And it’s a wonderful place, but it isn’t exactly full of business opportunities. In a two years we could be set up in our own trade shop in Daldurive.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not interested in getting caught up in trade routes out of the south sea.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well I am.” Parien’s airy tone slipped slightly. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Look, the two of you can sort out your holdings some other time,” A fluttering spasm moved through Emma’s gut when she heard Lison’s voice, “we are talking about what we should tell Emma before tomorrow night.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well that’s the issue isn’t it. Deem is worried that if our Patron finds out the truth, he won’t be able to do business in his pretty dwin valley again. So I say don’t tell her.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m worried, Parien, that I, and every other dwin here will be put to hard labor, Emma included.” Emma inhaled a sharp breath, thinking for the first time about how her role in this might be viewed by the Assembly, “I want to tell her, I want to explain it to her, otherwise she might feel she has no choice but to report us.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If she even knows we’re doing it.” Lison said lightly.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You think she won’t notice that two of our carts are riding three feet higher in the air?” Deem asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why should she? Sil and I built them to conceal the cargo.” Emma looked to Sil, his expression impossible to read, as usual. “Or are you planning to tell every dwin we hired in Palurain?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course I am. I only hired people I know won’t care about some long abandoned grove of elf-wood. I would have told Emma by now if Parien and you hadn’t convinced me to let you play out this scheme to distract her.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s worked hasn’t it?” Lison said, “I bet when she goes to bed at night she doesn’t even remember why we’re out here, she’s only wondering if I’ll kiss her tomorrow.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The hot flush that rushed to Emma’s cheeks threatened to carry angry tears with it. She hid her head in the grass, the cold wetness hugging her face. She didn’t want to hear anything else while, but the words kept coming. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’ve been lucky Lison, that no one gossips about Jori spending half the night in your tent.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lison scoffed, “I think only you noticed that Parien, but thanks for sharing, now everyone here can gossip it tomorrow.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No one is gossiping anything, and tomorrow we are telling Emma the truth.” Deem spoke in a way that said he wasn’t accepting disagreement. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll do it,” Lison volunteered. Emma felt something sour rising in her as he spoke, “We’ll ride out ahead of everyone, you can tell your sister separately. It’ll be better that way.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Rilen...” Deem sounded deflated when he said it.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lison continued, “And maybe tomorrow I’ll give Emma a lot more to think about than some silly matter of trade goods.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma could picture Lison’s bright lips, half pulled up in a grin, but the image turned her stomach. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I want to go,” she lifted her head out of the grass and whispered to Sil.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t nod or look her in the eye, but pushed up from the grass slightly and crawled behind her. She followed, conscious to keep herself low and to make as little sound as possible. Everything she’d heard kept tumbling over itself in her mind, grinding against each other and collapsing into one conclusion - she’d been a blind fool.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil stood up in front of her, startling her. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed them, but saw only the outline of a few tents against a dark background. They were up over the hill and the fire was far behind them. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil pointed to her tent, as though she might not recognize it in the dark. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you want to tell Deem I’m the one who told you, I’ll understand,” Sil said, “I’ve always respected him, I like working for him, but I think he was wrong. In fact, I can tell him.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil,” Emma put her hand on his arm, “I’m not sure what I’ll do yet, but let me be the one to talk to Deem, please.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Alright,” he nodded and started to turn.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil,” she gripped his arm, trying to turn him back around, “wait.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He fixed his blue eyes on her. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thank you. I’m glad you told me. It means something that you respected me enough not to keep it secret.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I would have told you sooner if I knew Deem might not tell you at all.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That means something to,” she smiled weakly.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Lison isn’t a bad guy.” Sil said, causing Emma’s heart to speed up, “What he did to you, this game, it’s a awful thing to do, but really, he’s just trying to impress Parien. He wants to prove he can get things done.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That make it better?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No it’s just,” he looked confused for a moment, like he wasn’t sure if he could explain himself, “I guess he’s my friend, the first I’ve had in a long time, I just wanted to defend him.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma nodded, wearily “Good night Sil.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Night Emma.” His tone was so calm, so normal, conveying no hint of what they had just talked about and overheard, that for a second Emma could almost think that none of it happened.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he was gone and she was left with the heavy anger and worry in her stomach. She hoped Rilen was awake in the tent, but would not hesitate to wake her if she wasn’t. She could not stand to wait until morning to talk to her friend. </span></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-15441663915660671632012-11-15T09:17:00.004-07:002012-11-15T09:37:09.960-07:00Emma, pt. 15<br />
Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Emma, pt 1.</a><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.004742844263091683" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The storm that threatened all day never came. The bloated, grey clouds dropped little more than the annoying spray that followed them to the campsite. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sparse trees vanished entirely and gave way to a grassy field. On the horizon Emma could see some huge red formation of rock, dark and shadowed on such a day. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil kicked at his horse, advancing quickly down the road. Emma only prodded Juiper some, enough to keep Sil in sight, but not so much that they caught up to him. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen ran one hand through her damp hair, the other still wrapped around Emma’s waist, “I really don’t want to do this again.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It wasn’t so bad.” Emma turned her head slightly so her voice better carried to her friend, “Sil was almost polite, and we brought back dinner.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I still would have rathered a relaxing day in the wagon.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A boring day,” Emma said, kicking again at Juniper as Sil slipped further into the distance. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though each day on the road had brought new sights, the journey had become a series of routines. </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At night everyone worked to pitched camp, only to tear it down each morning. After the roast on the first night, the food had been predictable - breads and cheeses and meat from something Sil hunted. Every night the same and every night Deem saying “It fills us up, doesn’t it? We can buy all the fancy meals we want when the job is over.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jori seemed to have told her best story on the first night, and no one knew any better. The only good night of entertainment had come when Zariah showed off his fire craft, but after a stray cyclone of flames licked out of the pit and two bed rolls caught fire, Deem had forbade him from doing it again. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The worst routine was the one she’d seemed to fall into with Lison. All day they would ride side by side, Lison telling stories about the cities he’d seen on the other side of the Clavehound Mountains. They would sit together at meals, he would brush against her, stroke the skin of her neck and arms with his fingertips and play with her hair. But when they were alone he would change. He was still sweet, still charming, but there was a distance between them, and every time Emma tried to close it he would back further away. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She suspected that Deem had ordered him to act like a gentlemen, but Rilen would not confirm that. She wanted to confront him about it, but had not yet found the right time or words. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ahead of them Sil’s horse seemed to vanish in a few short steps, as though it was dropping down an incline.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Where’d he -” Rilen started to ask.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma kicked at Juniper and hurried down the road. It sloped down steeply and she saw where Sil went. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The road dipped into a small valley, only to climb up a sharp hill just beyond. Sil had gone far enough that the crest of the grassy hill had obstructed him. Now he was off the road, settling in the middle of a wide expanse of grass, about to dismount his horse.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was no tree cover like she’d grown used to in their campsites, only grass, dirt, and a small spring.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It just goes on forever.” It seemed for a moment that Rilen was talking about the grass, which rose out of the valley into a long plane that stretched far out to the west, but when she said, “Are the leaves that color all year long?” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma turned in confusion. After staring for a long moment she realized that what she’d taken for a shapeless mass of red-brown rock was actually a series of rolling hills covered in dense trees. The red leaves made the forest look like a rippling red stain across the landscape. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It must be the Red Iron Forest,” Emma said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It looks like there is no end to it.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well there is, and Blue Coast is just beyond.” Emma pictured a flat map, a small image representing Blue Coast just past the red cluster of trees. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Juniper’s hooves made almost no sound against the wet, springy grass as they left the road. Emma pulled at the reins, stopping the horse halfway between the road and Sil. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She shifted in the saddle, not sure what to do next. After a day’s ride Lison would usually help her down from Juniper, holding her around the middle and lowering her to ground. Sil made no indication he was going to help her, and she was not inclined to call out to him. Behind her Rilen shifted from side to side, leaning over to look at the ground below them.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll slid off then help you down,” Emma said, getting ready to swing her leg over Juniper’s back.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Umm, is that -” Rilen couldn’t finish before Emma lifted her leg and dropped her weight off the side of the horse.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She gripped to the saddle to slow her fall. Juniper twisted her neck at the unexpected action, but kept her frame steady. Emma came down harder than she’d intended, slamming into the ground off balance, and falling to the side, throwing her hands out to catch herself. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This close to Juniper’s feet, she realized how dangerous it would be if the animal decided to move. Emma could easily be trampled. She scooted away quickly, pushing herself up to standing when she was a safe distance from the horse. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you alright?” Rilen asked, holding tightly to the saddle. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ok,” she brushed dirt of her pants and from the palms of her hands, “nothing’s broken.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She walked to the horse and patted her on the neck, then reached up to Rilen.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen looked over to Sil, then back down to Emma, “I think maybe Sil should help me down.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t trust me to catch you?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’d rather not be caught.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma put her hands on her hips and feigned insult, “Alright.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She turned to where Sil was working on the kinibs, “Hey, Sil, could you help Rilen down.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He spun around, his brow creased in confusion. Realization passed across his face and he stood, resting his long, serrated knife on the ground. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sitting uncomfortably on Juniper’s saddle, her damp hair hanging on either side of her face, Rilen looked miserable. Emma hadn’t noticed before just how much her friend was suffering. Rilen’s red eyes were weary, tired. The corners of her mouth pulled up in a weak smile each time she caught Emma’s eye, but otherwise her face was set in a heavy frown.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sil stopped beside the horse, reaching up for Rilen. When both her feet were on the ground Rilen closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Sil walked away without a word, brushing against Emma as he passed.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma put her hand on Rilen’s arm and squeezed tightly. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I won’t make drag you along next time, I swear.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re going to do this again?” Rilen glanced over to where Sil was picking up his knife and cutting the skin off a dark black kinib. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma shrugged, “It was a lot more fun than just riding along with the wagons all day.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen looked at her skeptically, “Fun? Hunting little rodents and getting soaking wet?” she lifted her damp hair dramatically. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The weather isn’t that bad, and I loved learning how to use a new bow, not having to listen to the same three conversations about weather and bed bugs and what food everyone wants to eat when we get to Blue Coast. And you have to admit it’s better than listening to Parien and Deem bickering at each other all day.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well I sort of like it, spending the day talking with friends, seeing the road. Not riding a horse.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t misunderstand, I really love being out here, but I just want to try new things. I was thinking about asking Sil to show me his throwing daggers. He seemed pretty agreeable today and -” She stopped when she saw Rilen’s face change from skeptical to shocked. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sil? Come on Emma, he’s been completely creepy today.” Her voice was a harsh whisper. “That weird story about his family, and how he always just stares at you, his face just blank.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He wasn’t so bad,” Emma cast her eyes at the back of Sil’s head, his red hair standing up in places, leaving patches of white-pink scalp visible, “He’s certainly not very talkative, but I think I’d like to learn to throw knives, or how to track a deer through the woods.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen sighed heavily. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I won’t drag you along again, don’t worry.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh Emma, it’s not that it’s,” Rilen tried to force a smile, but gave up, “I really did hate it out there, but I do want to be with you, the wagons are a little boring when you are riding ahead of us.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t have to go out every day. I don’t even have to do it all on this trip. I will be traveling this road with you many times. Sil can teach me how to track a deer then.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That means Deem would have to assign Sil to whatever crew I end up overseeing.” Rilen said with an unpleasant look on her face.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, he doesn’t seem like someone to cause trouble.” Emma said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen shivered and Emma noticed how dark it had become. The grey clouds turned deep black as the sun, which they hadn’t seen all day, worked its way closer to the horizon. Emma looked at the dark red trees that covered the hills, hardly able to see them as the light noticeably dimmed around them. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We should set up our tent, and I need to get Juniper’s saddle off.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Give me the tent and I’ll get to work on it,” Rilen said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma pulled their tent off of Juniper’s pack, handing it to Rilen, then she worked at the straps that held the saddle on the horse. She was quite proud of how she could take the huge saddle off on her own. Once the straps were unfastened she tugged at one side of it, letting it slip and drop into her arms. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen flinched every time she saw Emma do it, but Emma only smiled and placed the saddle on the ground. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the time the rest of the caravan arrived Sil had finished skinning all the kinibs, Juniper was brushed down and grazing happily, and Emma and Rilen were in their tent, taking refuge from the damp evening air.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma finished braiding Rilen’s hair into three long ropes that ran along her scalp and down her back. When Emma was done she reached for the flap. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m going to stay here, maybe recover some.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Recover from what?” Emma asked playfully, “I’m the one whose arm is sore from that bow.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I just...” Rilen looked take back, “I’m just tired.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh Rilen, I was only playing. Of course you should rest. You are wonderful for spending today with me. I’ll bring you a bowl of stew when its ready.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thank you, Emma.” Rilen smiled. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside a sharp, peppery smell floated through the air. Emma was surprised to find Zariah already standing over a fire pit and Sil helping someone prepare the stew. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was so dark that the forest was completely lost in darkness, and Emma could see almost nothing beyond the circle of firelight. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There was a better time than now to talk about it.” Parien’s agitated voice drew Emma’s attention. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parien stood by a supply wagon, one hand gripping tightly to a beam while she gestured at Deem with the other. He was in his familiar stance, arms crossed, feet wide apart, standing five or six paces away from Parien. A cluster of people gathered just beyond them, watching the exchange. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The time was back in Paldurain..”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Paldurain? We both know that would -”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Emma!” Lison called out from the gathered crowd, interrupting Parien, “We hear you put your new bow to good use today.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He walked between Parien and Deem, both of whom looked irritated and impatient. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Its not really my bow, I only borrowed it from Sil.” </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her gaze moved from Deem’s scowl to Lison’s smile. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He ran his hand along her shoulder and down her arm. It was a gesture he’d done many times before and she’d always found it sweet and exciting at the same time, but for some reason Sil’s words repeated in her mind, about how Lison dropped her onto her horse like she was a little child. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She looked up to his eyes, dancing with firelight, and forgot Sil’s words. She vowed to herself that tonight she would get Lison alone and sort out what he really felt for her. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lison put an arm around her shoulder and guided her to the firelight. She heard people walking behind them, and Parien and Deem resumed their argument. She glanced back to see them still standing where they had been, as people walked around them. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While they waited for stew, Jori told two stories, each about great objects of power found by maidens and bestowed onto their lovers. Emma sighed and rolled her eyes when Jori used the same phrase to describe the ‘lasting and eternal love’ in both stories. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The stew was tangy and sweet. Emma only ate a little before she took a bowl to Rilen. The girls sat together and Emma told Rilen how lucky she was to miss the stories tonight while she sipped at her stew. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When all the stew was gone Emma still lingered, proposing that she redo the braids in Rilen’s hair to make them tighter. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I think you’re stalling,” Rilen said, pulling her hair up to keep it out of Emma’s grasp, “don’t you have something to do tonight? Someone else you should be talking to?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh fine.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She thought about her presentation to the Assembly and about confronting her mother. If she should do all that, she could talk to one boy about their feelings, even if that boy had such pretty eyes and black hair she wanted to run her fingers through. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She stepped out of the tent and almost collided with someone’s chest. The man stepped backward, giving her space to recover her posture. She looked up to see Sil’s small eyes staring down at her with unusual intensity. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You should,” he jerked his head backward as if to indicate something behind him, “should um, come with me.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma stood, unsure what to say. She searched his expression for a second, trying to find some clue to what he intended. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s important,” he insisted, “I should have, well, I didn’t know what to do. Maybe I should have told you sooner, today on the road or even before. Or maybe I shouldn’t be doing saying it at all. But it’s too late now.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma felt like telling him it wasn’t too late, that he could keep whatever it was to himself, but he looked so strange, anxious and worried. He seemed a different person than the sullen man he’d been on the journey. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I have to, um,” she grasped behind her for the tent flap, “Rilen and I were -”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please,” he took her arm gently in his hand, “I just have to tell you something, it won’t be long.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was visibly calming himself, taking controlled breaths and keeping his eyes steady with hers. He looked so sincere, so worried. Not worried that she wouldn’t follow him, she could tell that, but worried about something bigger, something he needed to share. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Alright.” She nodded.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He let go of her arm and she followed him out of the circle of firelight and into the shadowed night. </span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-6126977120161378082012-11-01T08:40:00.002-06:002012-11-15T09:41:41.214-07:00Emma, pt. 14Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Emma, pt 1.</a><br />
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The bow Emma held was smooth, the
wood flexible. She’d been surprised; the bows her father had taught her to use
were smaller and more rigid. This bow would allow her to hit a target farther
away, but it would also require more control and strength to use. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sil crouched silently next to her,
watching the far field as he aimed his bow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When Emma had asked if she could
learn to use the larger bows she’d expected Lison to teach her. She imagined his
arms wrapped around hers, helping her aim the bow; she’d pictured his fingers
brushing against hers as she worked the tight string. </div>
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When she proposed it he agreed
it was a good idea for her to learn, but confessed to being a horrible shot. So
Emma now found herself out in the woods with Sil, hunting kinibs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They’d spend the early morning
traveling down the road, getting far ahead of the main caravan. It was the
sixth day of their trip, and the second day that Emma had been able to convince
Rilen to ride Juniper with her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Emma was thankful that Rilen had
agreed to come with her this morning, as she had no desire to be alone with
Sil. Rilen stood halfway between the
horses and the spot where Emma and Sil were crouched. Emma kept looking over at
Rilen, trying to signal her to come closer. Rilen shook her head, but after a
few minutes finally rolled her eyes and crouched next to her friend, her feet
sinking slightly into the muddy ground.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Keep your elbow in,” Sil jabbed a
finger painfully into Emma’s arm, “you said you’d used a bow before.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Emma exhaled heavily, “I have, but
this is harder to pull.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The air was colder than it had
been for most of their trip, the sky gray and dark. Normally Emma would be
excited for an impending thunderstorm, but today it seemed only a bother. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The arrow loosed from Sil’s bow, making
no noise and sprouting in the side of a kinib less than a heartbeat later. The
small creature simply stopped moving, the arrow jutting out of its side,
creating the illusion that it was pinned to the ground. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rilen made a small squeak, and
turned away. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Why aren’t the rest running away?”
Emma asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The other kinibs had halted,
freezing in place. A moment later they were moving again, running up and down
tree trunks, grabbing fleshy fruits in their paws, then darting to their holes
in the ground, only to emerge seconds later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They had long, thin bodies,
covered in a think fur. Emma knew their pelts were soft and fine, they were
often used in dwin fashion. They ranged in color from a light tan to a deep
black, every one of them dotted with gray and silver. Small pointed ears hid
under the mounds of fur that ringed their faces. Their long, bushy tails
twitched back and forth as they ran, expressing excitement and fear when their
small rodent faces did not. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They don’t have much time. They’ll
soon be competing with birds and other scavengers for the fruit. The only thing
they care about right now is hording as much as they can.” Sil loosed another
arrow and downed a second one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma felt Rilen shifting beside her.
She turned to her friend; Rilen sat with her arms crossed staring at the kinibs
with sad eyes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Couldn’t you just shoot at
targets?” Rilen asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil turned around, setting his bow
next to him, “No one needs to learn how to plant an arrow into a stationary
block of wood.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ve eaten kinib before Rilen,”
Emma said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yeah, but I’ve never killed one.”
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well you won’t have to,” Emma
felt guilty for dragging Rilen out with her, now seeing the boredom and discomfort on
her friend’s face. She put her hand over Rilen’s, “Thank you for coming out, we
won’t be much longer.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We can go back right now if
you’ve decided not to kill any kinibs.” Sil watched her without emotion. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma looked back over the field to
the small creatures running up and down the trees. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They are very cute,” she said,
then took a breath and rounded her bow in front of her, pointing it at one kinib
sitting nearly motionless just outside his hole.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She pulled back the string, the
memory of Sil’s sharp jab causing her to pull her elbow in line with the arrow.
The arrow loosed and struck the small rodent in the shoulder, flattening it to
the ground. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They are also really good in
stew.” She said, casting an apologetic look at Rilen, “We can go back now if
you want, I think I understand how to use this.” She put the bow down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen bit the inside of her lip,
thinking. “They do make a good stew. And
three of them will barely be enough to feed the three of us.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma smiled at Rilen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You should do the shooting for a
while Emma, get practice.” Sil said, resting one tip of his bow on the ground
and leaning into it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Alright.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma’s next shot missed; she’d
tried for one as it ran down a tree trunk, but had overcompensated for its
speed. The arrow landed in the trunk just below the kinib and the animal
scurried to the other side of the tree. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her next few shots hit their
targets, including one difficult shot as a kinib darted over the ground. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t see it,” Sil said, not
directing his words to anyone in particular, squinting as he watched the kinibs,
“people always say little rodents like those are cute, but they just look like
rats to me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma had to stifle a giggle. She had
been thinking about how much the kinibs’ pinched faces resembled Sil. She cast
her eyes to him briefly, looking at the sharp, boney edges of his face, and the
long nose that seemed to drawn in the rest of his features. Even his wild red
hair looked like the tufts of fur that lined the kinibs faces, and his freckles
created the illusion of whiskers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She smiled to herself and returned
to her task. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After almost a dozen kinibs were
down, Sil shot again, taking down three more in quick succession. Emma watched,
amazed at how quickly he could draw and aim, seemingly without effort. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the field the kinibs still
horded their fruits, completely ignoring the dead around them and the arrow shafts.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We can beat the others to the
camp, get these ready for cooking,” Sil said as he stood, walking toward the
clearing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma and Rilen walked back to the
horses to get sacks for the kinibs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So, was it worth learning how to
use that?” Rilen asked as they walked to the horses, pointing at the bow in
Emma’s hand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very much, this has a lot more
power,” she glanced back to see Sil almost to the kinibs, “but I would have prefered that Lison teach me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The horses stood next to each
other, their noses down in the grass. They were off the road, but close enough that Emma could see it through the sparse trees. She patted Juniper on the neck when they approached.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lison is a lot more –” Rilen
paused, “agreeable than Sil.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma rolled her eyes and scoffed
as she tied the bow to her saddle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen looked at her curiously, but
said nothing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma and Rilen each took a large
sack from the saddlebag on Juniper’s side, and as they turned away from the
horse Emma sighed in frustration.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I can’t be reading too much into
what Lison is doing? Can I? It really seems that he likes me, right?” Emma
looked to Rilen, who only nodded, “But we’ve barely kissed, and when I try to
even do that he backs off.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe he’s just trying to be
respectful.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma didn’t say anything and
absently watched Sil remove the arrows from kinibs. She wondered why, if Lison
really did want to pursue more than flirtations, he would pass up a chance to
spend the day alone with her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The girls followed behind Sil,
placing the kinibs in the sacks as more of the small animals scurried around
them. The living kinibs seemed oblivious to them, except when Emma bent down for one
of the red fruits. A kinib reached for the same fruit, then reared onto its back
legs, screeching and hollering at her until she backed away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When all the dead kinibs were in
bags and all the arrows were retrieved, they returned to the horses. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have seen cute animals,” Sil
said, again not directly to either girl. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They walked most of the way back
to the horses and he said nothing more, apparently not planning to. To break
the silence Emma said, “Oh?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He looked at her, his small blue
eyes full of thought, “There was a cow on my parents’ farm. She had these big
brown eyes the same color as her spotted hide.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cow?” Emma asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They reached the horses. Sil
helped the girls strap the sacks to the saddle as he spoke.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A type of bovine, bigger than a
kewel, but smaller than an ox.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma nodded. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil made a platform with his hands
next to Juniper. Emma looked at him, not sure what to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He turned to her, his expression
expectant. “Would you rather I drop you up there like Lison does? Like you’re
some little girl?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma blushed and shook her head,
reaching for Juniper and putting one foot unsteadily onto Sil’s hands. When she
had a firm grip on the saddle he lifted her into the air, giving her the reach
to wrap her legs around the horse. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil held his hands out for Rilen
to use next. She looked up to Emma, worried and uncertain. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Here.” Emma reached her hand down
for Rilen to take. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen had difficulty getting her
legs on either side of the saddle, but Sil and Emma helped steady her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t think I’m ever doing this
again,” she whispered in Emma’s ear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil mounted his horse and lead
them out of the clearing and back toward the road. Rilen gripped Emma around
the waist and rested her head against Emma’s back. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma was starting to get used to
being on horseback for most of the day, the aches and pains she’d started the
journey with were fading into memory. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The air was wet with a light spray
of rain, one they couldn’t see, but that still soaked their hair and clothes.
Emma took a deep breath, sucking in the clean, wet smell and closed her eyes
for a second. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There aren’t any cows on this
side of the Clavehounds, are there?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma opened her eyes to see Sil
riding closer to them. The road was surrounded by a thin growth of trees, huge
hills all around blocking whatever lay beyond. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ve never seen one, but that
doesn’t count for much,” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They’re big, sweet things. Wet
noises and soft eyes.” Sil was looking into the distance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are they work animals?” Emma
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, dairy and meat. My parents
worked a dairy farm.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma nodded. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He slowed his horse again so he
was riding right next to Juniper. He turned his head to the girls and smiled as
his talked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Goat butter and goat milk are
fine, but I prefer cow. I guess because I grew up with it. It’s creamier and
sweeter.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tone in Sil’s voice made Emma
curious. She’d never heard him be so
open or so free with his words. He
wasn’t lecturing or scolding or brooding, he was sharing something personal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You said there was one cow in
particular you thought was cute?” She asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He looked at her, his eyes examining
her for a moment before he answered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I used to hide in the fields. I’d
do my chores so early in the morning most would still consider it night, then
I’d head out into the fields before my parents were awake. They knew I was out
there, but didn’t bother to find me if I’d done my duties for the day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Waltrun’s Hold isn’t anything
like this,” he gestured his hand to the bumpy hills around them and the
clusters of trees, “it was as an open, flat place, all grass and sky. Only the
north had forests, and they were always blanketed in snow.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma pictured a map in her mind, a
huge map in one of her mother’s books that showed the lands far to the east of
the Clavehound Mountains. She thought Waltrun’s Hold was a land halfway between
the mountains and the distant eastern sea. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’d lie out in the grass just
watching clouds and birds and try not to think about going back home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something about how he said it
made Emma know there was pain there. She watched him, but his face never
changed from the mildly pleasant expression. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My cow would always find me out
there. I was usually half asleep and she would press her huge wet nose into my
face,” he brushed his cheek absently, “She’d follow me around, pushing her head
into my hands, asking me to scratch her ears.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He seemed to be finished, just
riding and watching the road. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She does sound very nice.” Emma
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When my father slaughtered her he
told me he picked her out on purpose.” His face was flat again, back to its
emotionless mask, “he said he knew I was treating her like a pet, like she was
a friend or something. He told me that wasn’t right, that they were just
animals.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen tightened her grip around
Emma’s waist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He was right, I suppose. Still, I
left home the next day. No real reason to be around those people anymore.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He tilted his head to the side in
what looked like a gesture of dismissal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How old were you?” Emma asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil furrowed his brow, thinking
hard for a moment, then barking a laugh, “Well, hmm, you know it was so long
ago,” he looked at her, “eight I guess, maybe nine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma’s eyes went wide and she
heard Rilen suck in a gasp of air behind her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nine!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I bet to a dwin that sounds like
I’d just crawled out of my crib, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not that bad. It’s
young to leave home for sure, most boys left home around fifteen or sixteen,
but it’s not unheard of.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The rain started pouring in
earnest, splashing huge drops off the dusty road. Rilen lamented leaving her
hat with the wagons. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We should hustle to the campsite
if we want to get these things skinned before the others catch up with us.” Sil
kicked his horse and bolted ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh great.” Rilen said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma kicked at Juniper and
followed after. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/11/emma-pt-15.html" target="_blank">Continue to part 15</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-61616343774406549702012-10-25T09:09:00.004-06:002012-11-15T09:40:49.981-07:00Emma, pt 13<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Emma, pt 1</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
---</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The dwin hero of our tale doesn’t
make her appearance at the start. Instead we first meet the crafter Raycole. She
was a legend in her time, her skills unmatched.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How come only the crafters in
stories can do anything impressive?” someone whispered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma looked around but could not
find who said it. She cast her eyes to Zariah, who was staring into the fire
with a scowl. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She could call great whirlwinds
from a clear sky, turn mountains to dust, and,” Jori stopped for a moment
taking another drink, leaning her head back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil scoffed and turned away from
the fire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Melt her enemies’ swords right
out of their hands,” Jori said when she finished drinking. “But her legend was
not a good one. She was not loved or honored in her time. Men and woman feared
her, feared the horrors her powers could unleash. She was shunned, scorned and
persecuted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wandering and alone she came
across a long abandoned shrine to the god Fageis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Before Fageis was banished to the
other side of the Divide with the other gods, he was the enemy of love, a
blight on affection. But it is not simple hate that drove him, but love itself."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori moved around the fire,
turning her head from side to side, which cast her voice in all directions,
sometimes looking away from the circle entirely. Emma had to strain to hear
her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I call Fageis <i>he</i>, but in truth he had no set gender,
nor any set form. He was what he needed to be for those he loved. If he saw a maid longing for the love of a
handsome man, then he became that handsome man. If –”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A dwin woman grabbed Jori by the
arm and spun her around so she was facing the circle again. Jori broke out
giggling before resumed the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So Raycole went out into the
world –”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Fageis!” the dwin boy shouted,
“You’re still telling us about Fageis.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori looked confused for a moment,
then seemed to find the right spot in her mind, “Right. When the god Fageis saw
an old man with a weathered but beautiful soul, who longed for a companion to
see him to the grave, he would turn himself into a kindly old lady. If a child
longed for a mother to comfort them, Fageis would be that mother. But,” Jori bent down, pretending
to whisper and holding out a finger like she was about to divulge a secret,
“this love never lasted. Fageis would see, all around, love just as precious
and just as vibrant as his own. On every side were lovers, other families and
friends and caring devotion.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison’s hand moved off Emma’s
shoulder and down her back. He twisted his fingers so they reached under the
edge of her shirt. She felt hot blush in her face. She tilted her head up to
see him, the world moving more than it should due to the wine. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He smiled at her and planted a
small kiss on her cheek. Her chest felt full of something warm and light. She
pushed herself against him and closed her eyes, listening to the story. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This enraged Fageis, sent him into furies. How, if his love was so special, could there be so much of it in the
world? He would lash out, destroy the object of his affection, taking farms and
villages, and even whole cities with it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And so he went on, falling in
love, changing every aspect of his being through devotion, then wreaking havoc
in the wake of his jealousy. On and on, until he, like all the gods, was
banished behind the Divide. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is what Raycole found in her
wanderings, after the world had rejected her for her powerful craft. At the
feet of this shrine she found her purpose. The crafter found her kindred
spirit. She dedicated herself to Fageis, pledged herself and her love to the
jealous god, she became his emissary and vowed to carry on his work.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma heard Sil shift next to her.
She opened her eyes to see him turned back to the fire, a skeptical frown making
his face look even less attractive. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Before the world had feared
Raycole for what she could do, but now they feared what she did do.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil rolled his eyes and stood up,
leaving the fire. Lison reached after him, but was too slow, his arm caught
only air and Sil vanished into a tent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When she found young lovers, she
would reduce them to ash. When she found parents fawning over their newborns
she would turn them to ice and smash them apart.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori’s eyes were wide as she
loomed near the fire. Then a huge bang erupted through the camp, Jori screamed
and everyone started. Emma pushed back into Lison at the same moment he tried
to push himself to his feet. Emma was knocked slightly off balance. She put her
hand down in time to stop herself from toppling over. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The chaos only lasted a moment as
everyone realized what had caused the bang. The fire, with the now heavily
carved deer hanging above it, danced with shapes and images. A man and woman
spun around each other until they met and embraced. Then a huge, looming figure
approached them, crushing them down into the burning logs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Zariah, what are you doing? You
could have given us some warning.” Deem shouted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The crafter was smiling and
staring at the flames, “I just thought I’d help tell the story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori was badly shaken. Parien
stood to wrap an arm around her and calm her down, offering her more wine. Jori
pushed it away and scowled at Zariah. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You could have killed me!” The
hair around her face was singed and her blonde eyebrows looked smaller than
they had. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nonsense, I know what I’m doing,”
Zariah said, not looking away from the fire. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The flames changed again and
another man and woman appeared, this time they stood looking down at a crib.
The looming figure entered again, casting some kind of wave at them. They scattered
apart, the flames dividing and jittering away from each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma had seen Zariah put on many
similar displays, but it had been a long time, and she’d forgotten how
beautiful it was. She smiled and clapped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is very nice Zariah, but you
should have warned Jori,” she said, “though it does add something to the story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison settled back down and put
his arm over Emma shoulder. He sucked in a deep breath, calming himself. Emma
looked up to see him staring intently across the fire at Parien and Jori. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe we should end our night
here,” Deem said, about ready to stand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No!” said the boy, “I want to
know how it ends. We haven’t even gotten
to the dwin yet!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Kyil, it’s about time you went to
sleep,” Deem said in a stern tone. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, please, I want to know how it
ends,” he turned to Jori, “please, it was a nice story, finish it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori pulled away from Parien, her
long face sour and sullen. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was a very nice story, Jori,”
Emma said, “Please, tell us how it ends.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori looked over the fire at Emma
and Lison.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, Jori, finish, we all enjoyed
listening to you.” Lison said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori straightened her skirt and
pushed her hair back over her shoulder. “I guess I could, but <i>he</i> has to promise to leave the fire
along.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zariah was still staring into the
flames, which were now changing from shape to shape, first and army of horses,
then a huge sea creature diving in and out of waves. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Please, Zariah, let Jori finish.
You can show off your craft another night,” Emma looked at him, “You could do
those whirlwinds. I used to love those.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I could do them right now.” He
smiled at her, the flames starting to churn and twist, threatening to
completely consume the deer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, not tonight, please, I want
to hear the end of the story.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison squeezed Emma’s shoulder and
leaned down, kissing her quickly on the ear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The flames were normal again so
quickly it was hard to believe they’d ever been more than a cook fire. People
settled back in place, finishing their servings of meat, while Jori tried to
remember her place in the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Raycole was destroying love in
the name of Fageis.” The boy, Keil supplied. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes, right,” she took a deep
breath, “She was the living will of Fagies, his emissary on earth, and she felt
her love for her god was the only love in the world worth preserving. All other love fell beneath her like wheat
under a scythe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Her travels and her rage lead her
across the face of the world until she found herself outside the city of Blue
Coast. Here she heard of another love, the love the citizens of Blue Coast had
for their city.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori seemed returned to a good
mood, taking a quick sip of wine before carrying on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They loved its high white walls;
they loved its river and its sea. They loved their blue sand and all the people
who lived with them. It was a love
unlike anything she’d seen. A love so big it changed the shape of the land as
people built homes and roads to make their city bigger.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma closed her eyes and saw a
picture in her mind of Blue Coast. It was flat, like the picture in her book,
the blue beaches little more than ink on a page. She tried to make it real, to
give it dimension and shape, but her imagination failed her and she opened her
eyes again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Raycole stopped then, by the side
of the road, on the outskirts of Blue Coast, and prayed to her god. She called
out to Fageis, vowing to rend the city to pieces in his name. She dedicated the
destruction and the carnage to the jealous god. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But she was not alone on that
road, Jandal, the dwin, was traveling to Blue Coast that very day, and she
overheard it all. She heard the horror Raycole planned for that great city and
she heard why Raycole planned it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She approached the crafter,
bowing in supplication,” Jori mimed a bow, “heaping praise onto the woman,
seemingly in awe of her powers. Raycole balked at this, uncertain what to do.
The dwin grew closer, praising not only Raycoles powers, but also her beauty
and her grace. Raycole turned now to face the dwin, the city forgotten. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Jandal moved ever closer, now
telling the crafter that she’d searched all her life for such a woman, for
someone so strong and yet so elegant, someone the dwin could truly love. In an
instant Raycole embraced the dwin, pulling her close and kissing her deeply.
The two women intertwined and fell to the ground, making love.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were hoots and whistles all
around the fire, Jori smiled, threw her hair to the side, and carried on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Raycole had a mad feeling she’d
never known, something that consumed her from the inside, that changed her very
being. It was love. A love, she realized, that made her devotion
to Fageis seem like nothing. This realization clawed at her mind, threatening
to drive her mad. In one moment of passion she had betrayed her god. In her
anguish she threw herself into the sea, leaving Jandal alone on the road. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Blue Coast was saved by the
kindness and love of one dwin.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She bowed, and it took Emma a
moment to realize the story was over. Emma was not alone, Jori stood, her back
bent, her hair in front of her, for a long moment before scattered applause
started. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it did, she straightened and
put her hand to her face covering a blush that looked like it was caused by
wine more so than embarrassment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you Jori, that was lovely,”
Lison said, as he ran his fingers up and down Emma’s neck. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the story done and their
bellies full, everyone around the fire went their own way, some returning to
their tents, others stretching out by the fire. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison stood and helped Emma to her
feet. She took his hand and was thankful for it when her head started spinning.
She realized she hadn’t eaten very much, but had drunk a good deal of wine. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison smiled at her and tucked a
strand of hair behind her ear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You look ready to turn in for the
night. You’ve had quite an exciting day.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I have, haven’t I?” Emma laughed.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison led her across the camp to
her tent. They stopped and he leaned down to kiss her on her forehead. She
turned her head up to catch his lips with her own, but he pulled away to
quickly, squeezing her shoulder. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good night little Lady, I’ll see
you tomorrow.” He turned to leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lison!” She called. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He spun back to her, his eyebrows
pulled up in curiosity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma wasn’t sure what to say. When
she’d called his name all she wanted was to kiss him, but she couldn’t make
herself say that out loud. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you for everything today.”
She blurted out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Of course,” he smiled, “good
night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good night,” she sighed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She stood for a long time outside
the tent, watching him walk away. His dark hair glowed orange in the firelight.
She watched his long, slender shape move across the camp, stop to talk to a
group of people, then fold into a tent and vanish. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen appeared, smiling at Emma
and pulling her into the tent. “Unless you plan to follow him, maybe we should
tuck in for the night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Should I follow him?” Emma asked,
suddenly realizing she could.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen looked almost as nervous as
she did when Emma talked about racing horses, “I don’t know if that’s a good
idea. Deem says,” Rilen trailed off, apparently choosing her words, “I think
it’s better to take it slow.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that what you say, or what
Deem says?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Both.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh alright. I’m too tired to go
chase after a boy anyway.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma felt the truth of her words
as she pulled a blanket over herself. Her legs still ached and her head felt
huge and stuffed with cotton. She didn’t even have a chance to say goodnight to
Rilen before sleep pulled her into unconsciousness. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/11/emma-pt-14.html" target="_blank">Continue to part 14</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-27345211058214152012-10-18T08:51:00.000-06:002012-11-15T09:40:20.685-07:00Emma, pt. 12Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Emma, pt 1</a><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The warm, heady smell of roasting
meat filled the camp. Rilen and Emma worked together to set up the tent they
would share. Rilen taught Emma the best way to pick a spot and the proper order
for setting the stakes and hanging the cover. Though Rilen had never been as
far as Blue Coast, she had traveled some with her brother, and learned a few
things about being on the road.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When they finished they sat inside the tent and Emma told Rilen about her race with Lison. Rilen seemed nervous just
hearing about it and quickly changed the topics to the journey ahead of them
and what she expected Blue Coast to be like. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Between here and there you <i>must</i> try riding Juniper. It is so
amazing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll let you be the adventurous
one Emma,” Rilen took off her hat as she spoke and did her hair up in a pin to
keep it out of her eyes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You would be perfectly safe.”
Emma insisted, quickly checking her own hair, which was not as much of a mess
as she’d expected, still mostly in place in its braid. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Maybe we should wait until you’ve
figured out how to ride the thing before I try it. I don’t think one day of
riding makes you an expert.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I feel like it’s what I was meant
to do, like I’ve been waiting my whole life to ride.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma let her hair out of its braid
and it flowed over her shoulders and down her back, ripping slightly from a day
in the tight braid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh yeah, is that why you can’t
walk straight?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma rolled her eyes, “Lison says
I’ll get used to sitting on the saddle.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lison says, does he?” Rilen said
playfully, then both girls started laughing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m starving,” Emma said when she
was done giggling, “we should go get some food.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was already a crowd circled around
the fire, people laughing and talking, passing skins of some kind of wine
around. Rilen went to sit next to her brother, who looked as serious and
unamused as ever. Emma was about to follow her when Lison gestured her over. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He was sitting on the ground,
leaning over, his elbow in the dirt and his head resting on his hand. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He patted the dirt in front of
him, “Come sit with me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He pushed himself up off his arm
and as Emma sat in the dirt he draped the arm over her shoulder. She felt a
wave of glee spread through her chest, but her stomach also bubbled nervously. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She leaned back against him, exhaling
and letting some of her weight rest against his chest. He brushed some of her
hair off her shoulder with his hand, exposing her neck. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s almost done cooking,” he
said, “want some wine while we wait.” He handed her a leather skin and she took a drag from it. It was sweeter than dwin wine, lighter and fruitier. She took a
longer drink than she’d first intended. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Parien was on the other side of
the fire, talking in a loud, joking voice to one of the blonde human women. “Well
I think it’s your turn to tell a story.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Alright, alright, I’ll tell a
story.” The blonde stood, waving playfully at Parien. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She was tall, with straight hair
that hung well past her shoulders, a small band holding some of it off her
face. She had a long face, terminating in a pointy chin. Her dress was brown
and yellow with overlarge sleeves. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think I’ll turn in now.” Emma
almost started at the voice, she hadn’t seen Sil sitting next to them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Jori isn’t that bad a
storyteller,” Lison said to him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“She’s not that good a one
either,” Sil reached for the skin in Emma’s hand, “Here, let me have some of
that before I go.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison snatched it from Emma, “The
wine if for people at the feast Sil, if you want some, you’ll have to stay.”
His tone was clearly playful and innocent, but Sil’s face was hard and annoyed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil moved to stand and Lison
jutted out a hand, grabbing him by the arm. “Come on Sil, you are the one who
caught the deer, you might as well stay to enjoy it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two men stared at each other
for a moment, Emma couldn’t see Lison’s face, but she could see Sil’s, his
expression still annoyed. Sil reached his free hand into his jacket and pulled
out his large, bone-handled knife. The flickering light of the fire showed
brightly on its shining blade. Emma swallowed heavily. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil shook his arm loose of Lison’s
grasp and walked to the spit, carving out a large helping of meat, then
returned to sit next to Lison. Others went after him, cutting off their own
portion of meat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil sliced the meat and handed a thin
strip to Emma. She took it, looking into his small blue eyes, which seemed to
carry no emotion but indifference. He then offered a piece to Lison, who took
it and handed him the skin in return. Sil took without a word. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma shifted uncomfortably, not
sure what exactly had just happened between the two men. Lison must have sensed
her discomfort because she squeezed her shoulder supportively. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Across the fire Jori was taking
requests for which story she should tell. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Something about the Divide,” one
man called.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma took a bite of the meat, it
was warm and juicy. She’d had deer before, but it had always been formally
prepared, covered in sauces and garnishes. This was another experience, it felt
almost plump in her mouth. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison ran a rough finger against
the exposed skin on her neck. A shiver ran down her back and she closed her
eyes for a moment to fully enjoy the feeling. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, something with a romance in it,” someone
said to Jori. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just nothing sad, I can’t stand
the sad ones,” Lison yelled, causing Emma’s eyes to snap open.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori looked at Lison and crumpled
up her face in a girlish grin. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil offered Emma another slice of
deer without looking at her. She took it and ate, following his gaze to Jori. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you know any about dwin?” asked
the young dwin boy, the one Emma had seen around the campfire, near the Velshin
field. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unlike that night, Emma now had a clear view of his face,
and she saw just how young he ways, probably not even seventeen. She thought
that he had to be related to one of the other dwin to be allowed to travel with
them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dwin aren’t really known for their campfire stories.” Jori
said, pulling at a lock of her long hair, “but I know at least one story with a
dwin hero, and it’s even about Blue Coast.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well then you should definitively tell that one, to
celebrate our latest contract.” Parien said, clasping a hand around Deem’s
shoulder as he forced a smile. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jori swept her hair over her
shoulder and took a long drink of wine before starting the story.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/10/emma-pt-13.html" target="_blank">Continue to part 13</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-58337369549342998912012-10-11T10:08:00.000-06:002012-11-15T09:39:43.142-07:00Emma pt. 11Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html" target="_blank">Emma, Part 1</a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
---<br />
<br />
Learning to control the horse with
the reigns and with her legs didn’t take Emma as long as she would have
guessed. Before they were even out of the valley she was able to stop Juniper,
maker her go forward, and change how fast she trotted. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the saddle Emma could not feel Juniper’s
movements as she had the night she rode with Lison, but it was easier to hold
herself in place on top of the horse. While holding the reins in one hand,
Emma stroked Juniper’s mane with the other, gently patting the horse on the
neck. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She did feel unsteady on the
horse, towering over the ground, but Lison was right there, guiding her and
giving her assurances. They rode ahead of the caravan, the carts and kewel that
pulled them were just visible on the road. Sil rode just ahead of them,
wandering across the road, paying more attention to the view than to the road.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The farmland and green fields were
behind and below them. Along the path the ground was covered in a thick,
yellow-green grass and sprawling shrubbery adorned with purple and blue
flowers. The slope of the mountain was dotted with twisted trees that grew
denser as they followed the road up the mountain and out of the valley. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma was so focused on learning to
ride that it almost past her notice that they had reached the valley’s edge and
were ready to turn down a bend in the road that would lead into the thick
forest that encircled the mountain. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is a hell of a view,” Sil
said, his horse stopped, his arms crossed as he leaned over the pommel of his
saddle. His bony face was expressionless as he looked at the valley spread
below them. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma stopped Juniper next to Sil and
looked over the scene.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Paldurain always looked small from
her estate, but now it seemed little more than a slight imperfection, a place
where the ground briefly changed color before green once again reclaimed the
landscape. Only the Ardent stood out, stooped over his work, casting his long
shadow across the valley. Even that looked so small that Emma had a hard time
recognizing it as the massive figure she knew stood at the heart of the city. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It seems so little from here,”
Emma said. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait till you see how it small it
looks after you've had a taste of the rest of the world.” Lison watched her,
smiling. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It does seem strange that my
whole life has been spent just down there.” Emma gestured to the valley. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Some people like that,” Sil sat
back as he talked, pulling the gloves off his hands, exposing long, freckled
fingers, “they like the comfort of living only just as far as their eye can
see. They don’t want what's beyond that to upset the things they've built.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well we aren't those kind of
people, are we Sil.” Lison looked to the other man.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil shook his head slowly, “No we
are not.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He leaned to the side, unstrapping
a short bow from where it hung on his saddle. As he leaned over Emma saw the
inside of his jacket, and three rows of shining metal. Small knives, each barely
larger than a man’s finger, lined the jacket like teeth. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She looked away quickly. Flush ran
to her cheeks, though she was not sure why. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You off to get us a deer?” Lison
asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Or what passes for a deer around
here,” Sil said, guiding his horse toward the bend in the road that lead to the
mountain pass. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We'll see you when we make camp,”
Lison waved to him, Sil did not wave back as he rode away.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s a bit of a tradition,” Lison
explained to Emma, “we like to have a little feast our first night out.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma nodded.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The rest of the caravan was
closing on them. Emma could hear the creak of the wood and many voices echoing
up the road. She was a little sorry to see them approaching so quickly, she'd been
about to ask Lison about Sil and about the knives, but felt uncomfortable about
doing so in front of the others. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
“Have you fallen off yet?” Rilen
called when her wagon was close enough. She stood on the bench, holding her
floppy hat against her head.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Not yet.” Emma said, straightening
her back up and grasping the reins tightly in her hands. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I think you're a fool for
getting on that beast.” One of the dwin in the back of the wagon called. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma looked to the voice, confused.
A dwin with narrow red eyes and dark brown hair was staring at Juniper with
unease. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Zariah?” Emma’s voice conveyed
her shock and surprise, “what are you doing here.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Working. Ze’Manel hired me onto
his crew.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the dwin seated in the
cart wore durable clothes, meant for hard work, but Zariah wore a long silk
wrap covered in elaborately rendered flowers and trees. Like Emma, he was from
a noble dwin house.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You?” She said skeptically.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zariah took obvious offence, “Well
you're here aren't you? If this work is good enough for a Lady of Laudriel then
why not for a Lord of Raluvon.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma didn't know what to say.
She'd known Zariah since she'd been old enough to socialize with the other
noble houses, they had almost been friends. He had been popular, gaining the
respect and awe of the other children because of his ability at spellcraft. But
spellcraft was a fickle talent, rarely manifesting in more than a few tricks.
Crafters ended up tradesman more often than not, putting their limited skills
to practical use. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zariah had declared no such thing
would happen to him, he bragged and boasted that he would become a traveling
wizard, fighting evil. Emma recalled him standing on a table in the middle of
his estate, shaping flame into the form of bandits and bears and monsters. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the time she and the other
children had found his proclamations exciting. But as he got older and the
limits of his craft became evident, the boasting had sounded more and more
desperate. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It had been a long time since Emma
had seen him, at least three years. In that time he’d grown paunchy and pale.
Mostly likely he'd rarely left the confines of his family estate in that time. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s just a surprise to see you.”
Emma said.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well I always said I'd be out on
the road, seeking adventure, just like you. And here we both are.” He flashed a
toothy smile at her. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma nodded, but a heavy feeling
in her gut caused her to frown. Somehow hearing Zariah talk about their journey
made her realize how meager her adventure was. As thrilling as it was to be on
a horse, leaving home, seeing a new part of the world, in truth, they were
simply accompanying a delivery to a city not far from Paldurain. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She looked around at the faces,
dwin and human alike, bored, daydreaming or even napping. Most would have
nothing to but guard the goods at night, tend the kewel and horses, then unload
the heavy carvings once they reached Blue Coast. Ordinary people doing an
ordinary job. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen had returned to her seat and
was holding the kewel’s reins. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I like to have a crafter along,
and ours recently left our service,” Deem said from his seat next to Rilen, turning around to look at Emma,
“makes things easier, and Zariah’s got all the right skills: controlling fires,
lending some strength to wood and even helping the boys lift. You can cut a
crew in half with one good crafter.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zariah scowled and Emma knew he
wanted to object, to say that such menial tasks were below him. He looked up at
her and they locked eyes for moment. Then he turned away without saying a word.
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Our last crafter could work
healing and such,” Lison said as he trotted next to Emma, “They don’t replace
workers, but they are damn good to have around.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sun, and the long shadows it
cast, indicated it was late afternoon. Deem ordered that they travel almost
until dark, which would take them to a spot to camp. Emma listened as the
workers talked, forming a mental picture of the journey, of the roads and
campsites that lay between them and Blue Coast. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They rode along with the others,
but as the day wore on it became hard for Emma to ignore how sore her legs were
and how her thighs and hips ached from being in the same position for so long.
Her rump also ached, growing tenderer each time it came down on the saddle. She
shifted and twisted, trying to relieve the discomfort. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Had enough of Juniper yet?” Lison
asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, no, it’s just harder than I would
have guessed to sit in a saddle for this long.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You get used to it,” he said,
patting his own horse on the neck, “The clearing where Deem plans to make camp
for the night isn’t too far away. Do you want to race me there?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Race you?” Emma blushed, but delight
bubbled in her stomach, “I don’t know that I’m ready to race yet.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No better time to learn. You know
how to kick at her sides to speed her up,” he demonstrated on his horse and
jolted ahead of her, Emma kicked at Juniper to catch up, leaving the wagons
behind.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And pull back on the reins if
you need to slow her down, should you need to,” he laughed and kicked at his
horse again, now going fast enough that wind whipped back his dark hair. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma increased her speed, holding
tight to the reins and leaning down by Juniper’s neck to prevent herself from
feeling too lightheaded. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“All you need to do is watch the
road, and be ready to stop her if there is trouble.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The wind pulled at his voice,
making it hard to hear, but Emma caught enough of it. She smiled and nodded.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison had a strong lead on her.
She watched him, but found it hard to control Juniper that way. The horse could
not make turns quickly, or keep up a steady pace without guidance from Emma. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She dropped her eyes from Lison
and the quickly vanishing rump of his horse, and instead looked at the road,
and felt Juniper underneath her. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The powerful muscles in the horse’s
legs and back worked and the scenery flashed by in a blur. She rocked with each step the
horse took, the pain and ache driving her to lift her legs in the stirrups to
avoid striking Juniper's back each time she came back down. It was unstable and
felt dangerous, but the horse ran even faster and Emma’s delight and
exhilaration erased away any worry.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The steady, heavy breathes of the
horse and the impact of hooves on the ground were the only sounds she could
here. Then the impacts were joined by more and she realized she was close to
Lison and gaining ground fast. Her eyes had been so fixed on the road she had
almost missed seeing him. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon she was next to him, casting
him a quick glance and seeing him smile. She kicked at Juniper again, losing
her balance and gripping tightly to the reins. For one panicked heartbeat she
thought she was falling to the ground, but she only hit the saddle hard,
slipping some before regaining her setting. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An excited whoop erupted out of
her mouth and she kicked at the horse again, not looking back to Lison as she
passed him and flew down the road. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She kept going, wind hitting her,
all sounds and sights past Juniper barely registering in her mind. She thought
of nothing, worried about nothing, dreamed of nothing. She simply rode. She felt like she was made of air, like she was nothing more than wind being blown down the path.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A voice pulled her out of it,
calling to her. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Emma, slow down!”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Her hands pulled back on the
reins without thought; Juniper slowed and the world came back into focus. Dark
trees were all around and heavy shadows covered the road. The sky above was a
deep blue shot with purple. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hoof beats sounded behind her. She
pulled the reins to the left and leaned instinctively as Juniper turned around.
Lison stopped just behind her, his black hair a disheveled mess, his eyes wide
in excitement and worry. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma cast a brief thought to how
she must look, but she found she couldn’t care, not with the excitement of the
ride still overwhelming her. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We passed the campsite,” he said,
“a little while ago.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh,” she said, only just noticing
how heavily she was breathing, “sorry.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s alright,” he looked her up
and down and trotted closer, “it seems you were ready for racing.” He jerked
his head to the side, indicating the road behind him, “Shall we go wait for the
others?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma nodded, her face red from
embarrassment and excitement. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The camp was a quick trot in the
other direction, they had not gone too far past it. They rode in silence as
Emma allowed herself to calm down. Finally Lison spoke.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That was pretty good, I didn’t
think you’d beat me.” He flattened his hair, pressing the black locks down
against his skull. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Neither did I,” she smiled at
him.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“In truth I let you get ahead of
me a little, but I didn’t think you’d get that far ahead.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well Juniper did all the work.”
She stroked the horse along the neck and took in a deep breath of the horses’
sweaty scent. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The waning sunlight did little to
illuminate the landscape, leaving the area blanketed in darkness. Between the
trees were large boulders, blankets of grass and flowers, and clusters of
bushes. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ahead of them a huge clearing came
into view. The flowers and yellow-green grass were beaten down, and worn
completely away in some places. A small stream ran through it, and the sound of
running water rang through the air. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is the campsite?” Emma
asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It is, one of the nicer ones we’ll
use.” He led her off the road and down the short way to the site.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s so close to the road.” She
looked back over her shoulder, “is that safe?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“If you have good guards, and we
do, it’s much safer to be on the road than deep in the forest.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A form hunched near the stream, a
man bent, his back to them. Lison stopped his horse and gestured for Emma to do
the same. She watched the form by the stream as Lison helped her to the ground.
She recognized Sil’s jacket and she saw the legs of a deer splayed out in front
of him.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ripping sounds came from the deer
and Emma could see Sil was cutting the hid off it. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you get a good one?” Lison
asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good enough. Led me on a decent
chase,” Sil said, not turning around as he worked. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The knife in his hand was large,
with a bone handle and a serrated edge, not one of the small blades she’d seen
in his jacket.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison took the saddle off Juniper
and Emma pulled off the blanket that was underneath. Then he showed her how to
brush the horse and rub down her legs. He took Emma’s hand in his own, guiding
her as she stroked the animal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He smiled down at her and leaned
in close so her back was pressed into him. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They didn’t talk and the only
sound in the clearing was the cutting and ripping from Sil’s work. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma lead Juniper to the stream to
drink and Lison trailed behind, leading his own horse, rubbing it on the snout
and smiling at Emma. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Voices and muffled sounds came
from the road and the caravan appeared. Rilen jumped down from the wagon and
ran to Emma.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I saw how fast you were going,”
her eyes were wide, “I was sure you would fall off.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I wouldn’t let that happen to my
little Lady.” Lison said. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People started working around
them, unyoking the kewel, setting up camp. Emma showed Rilen the horse brush
and Rilen cautiously brushed Juniper down. The horse lifted her head and turned
in a gesture that Emma thought looked happy, but Rilen took as irritation. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the commotion of making camp
Emma felt it was safe to talk to Lison about Sil without the other man
overhearing. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lison, what does Sil do for
Deem?” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He thought for a second, casting a
glance to Sil, who was taking the deer carcass to the center of the camp.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Security mostly, and scouting, if
we need it.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is that why he has dozens of
daggers in his coat?”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen looked up from the horse,
over to Sil, then back to Emma, not speaking. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You saw those, huh?” He grinned,
“He’s pretty good with those little things. They’re throwing daggers. You
should ask him to show off sometime.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma watched as Zariah work with a
human to set up wood. They started a campfire, which cast a dancing orange light
around the darkening clearing. Sil left the deer with a man who was setting up
a roasting spit. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He walked back across the
campground, looking over to Emma and Lison, nodding, the orange light
illuminating half his bony face, leaving the other half in shadows. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/10/emma-pt-12.html" target="_blank">Continue to part 12</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-12537615678599830832012-10-04T09:01:00.003-06:002012-12-21T08:49:49.876-07:00Companions <b id="internal-source-marker_0.6330783672165126" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Neither man spoke as their horses walked side by side up the twisting mountain road. </span></b><br />
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The taller man, with short black hair and a beard that needed trimming, watched ahead at the edge of the trail.The blond man was twisted, examining the contents of a saddlebag, his curly hair bouncing next to his face. Behind him, slung over the horse and tied down with strong leather straps, was a suit of armor; the full moon and a field of stars were reflected in its polished surface. </span></b></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rhythmic sounds of hoofbeats against the ground were muffled by the dense trees on either side of the road. The tall man shifted in his seat, darting his eyes to his companion, then back to the road. After a moment he did it again, this time sighing in frustration. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you haven’t found it yet, then I'd bet you left it behind.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The blond man's horse slowed, then stopped. The tall man had to stop his mount as well so he didn’t round a corner and lose sight of his companion. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I swear I put it in here,” he pushed his hand around the bottom of the saddlebag, “Or maybe,” he dropped the bag and reached behind him to a sack tied down by his armor,“in here.” His young face was twisted as he searched, one eye partially squinted, his tongue jutting out of his lips.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other man rolled his eyes, “Is a piece of fruit really worth this effort?”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Faski, it was a yellow plum from Daldurive, I haven't seen one in years.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Then maybe you should have kept better track of it.” Faski said, looking at the road ahead, the sharp lines that made up his face set in a determined expression. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The blond man looked up from his sack, scowling, unamused at his friend. He put the sack back in place, abandoning his search and re-tying the straps. Then he kicked his horse and trotted ahead. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don't know why you have to be so serious all the time Faski, it wouldn't hurt you to think about something besides our work.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What is there besides our work, Gipp?” He kicked his horse so they were again riding side by side.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The blond laughed, “Friends, music, dancing. Family. Don’t you think about your family, Faksi?”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I do, when I am with them. But they are on the other side of the world right now, what is there to think about?” He looked at his friend, pulling up his dark eyebrow in genuine inquiry. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp scoffed in disbelief, “About how much you miss them? How much you wish to see them again? I think about my little brother almost every day.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And what good does that do you, or him? Does that make you a better swordsman? Does it help you serve Solinda?”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp rolled his eyes, “Sometimes I think you are beyond hope, Faski.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If it’s any consolation, Gipp, I often think the same about you.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both men grinned, though Gipp’s grin was wide and full of teeth, while Faski’s only turned up the very corner of his mouth. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />“I was going to share my plum with you, you know.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve had plums before.” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not like this.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They stopped talking for a moment as they rounded another turn. The road before them narrowed, no longer wide enough for them to ride abreast. Faski road ahead, Gipp falling in behind. The packed dirt was looser underneath them, with more frequent stones and branches. They had to concentrate to keep their horses on solid footing. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If there is nothing up here worth the trip, then I think Goanna will own me yellow plum,” Gipp said after a time, not comfortable with so much silence.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What, Gipp? You don't want to stop and enjoy this mountain road for its inherent beauty and splendor? All you can see is our goal at the end of this winding path?”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You're not nearly as funny as you think you are.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski’s grey eyes twinkled in the starlight, though Gipp could not see them. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Either way I think we should plan to spend the night up here. It’s starting to get cold.” Faski pulled his cloak around him.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Agreed. Though that inn did have such a nice fireplace.” Gipp pictured the warm, tight space of the inn in Tavrulan, where they'd left most of their companions.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You could have stayed behind with the others.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And let you walk into a den of agnoras all on your own. I couldn't abandon my friend to such and end.” Gipp smiled, his voice full of false bravado.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You and I are both in trouble if there are agnoras up here.” Faski did not smile, “more likely we'll just find some abandoned raider base.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well agnoras would be more interesting.” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes, I've always found having my entrails pulled out for the amusement of a magic-crafter to be a very stimulating time.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well maybe we should have brought Vo with us," Gipp mused, "his sense of humor might be worse than yours, but at least his craft -”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both men stopped their mounts. The horses shifted nervously, sensing danger. Faski sniffed the air. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fire.” Gipp said, “close.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Too close, we should have smelled it before, seen smoke,” Faski looked up to the sky, the bright field of stars unobscured. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp suddenly regretted his joke about agnoras; if it the fire ahead was magical, neither men stood much of a chance of making it back to the cosy inn at the base of the mountain. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski kicked his horse and hurried up the path.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is it wise to charge ahead?” Gipp called, even as he too hurried his pace.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“This is no coincidence Gipp, there is something up there that Marcus doesn't want us to find. We need to get there before it's gone.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a sharp incline and a short series of switchbacks that cut across the mountainside, an orange glow appeared in the trees. A moment later the lowest stars in the sky vanished behind a wall of smoke. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski dismounted, pulling his bow with him and dropping to one knee to string it. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp rested his hand on his armor, then turned to Faski. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski flung his bow over his shoulder and stood, looking at Gipp, “No time,” he shook his head.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I should have put it on in the village,” Gipp scolded himself as he jumped off the horse. He reached into the clutter of his armor and pulled out his sword belt, fastening it around his middle as he followed Faski into the trees. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their horses stood together on the road, trained to wait for their riders to return. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski rarely took his sword belt off, so it hung by his leg as they navigated through the dense trees. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You go left,” Faski pointed through the trees to a spot that would put Gipp on the far side of the fire. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp nodded and moved away, his eyes on the red-orange glow. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As they approached they saw a clearing in the trees, and a small cabin. The walls of the cabin were still intact, but inside it was filled with flame, and smoke poured out of the windows.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski stopped at the treeline, lifted his bow and dropping again to one knee to steady his aim. He watched the cabin down the shaft of an arrow, trying to find who had set the fire.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp left the treeline, moving slowly across the field, his sword still undrawn. The heat of the fire hit him like a wave, making making his skin feel pulled and dry. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A dark form crossed in front of the fire, running across the field.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Faski,” Gipp called, pulling his sword out, charging after the shape.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski pivoted at the call, but only saw the fire and Gipp moving through the field. Then there was a shape, just behind Gipp, dark and unclear. It seemed to lift and arm, something in its hand. The arrow loosed a second later.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp heard something slump to the ground behind him and spun to see a man, an arrow through his neck, a hatchet still clutched in his hand. Gipp’s sword was up in time to block the second man, who charged at him from the direction of the burning cabin. His wild, undisciplined hacking was easy to deflect; in seconds Gipp had disarmed him of his shortsword. The man came at Gipp with his bare hands, he didn't make it two steps before he was cut down. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Gipp looked up Faski was in the field, running after more figures. Gipp ran to join him. The heat grew more intense as he passed the cabin, and the sound of fire eating wood briefly overwhelmed his ears. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His senses were restored in a moment and he thought he heard Faski calling to him. He wanted to shout out to him, but he realized it was not Faski’s voice he heard. He stopped dead and looked to the cabin. The sound was clear, behind the roaring of the flames and the wood popping, someone was calling for help. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Faski!” He yelled, but the man was already far away, past the cabin and almost vanished into the trees on the far side of the field. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp thought for only a moment, weighing his choice. If he tried to saved whoever was in the cabin Faksi would face an unknown number of men alone. If he chased Faski, the people in the cabin might never make it out. If the other men fought as poorly as the man Gipp had killed, Faski would make short work of them on his own. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp moved toward the cabin, holding his left hand up to block his face, his sword still in his right hand.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The screaming was unmistakable now, multiple voices, high pitched and full of terror. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The door looked clear, not yet touched by the flames, but smoke poured out around the edges. Gipp didn't want to risk what might be just beyond. The window closest to the door provided a view inside, its wooden shutters wide open. It looked like a good portion of the floor was still untouched by flame. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He dropped his sword on the ground and reached to the window’s edge, pulling himself up. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His lungs were hit by a wave of smoke. He held his breath until he was over the ledge and down in the room. He crouched low and coughed, pulling his shirt up to cover his mouth. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The flames were along most of the walls and licking around the ceiling. It seemed to be centered on a cluster of tables and chairs, he guessed that's where the fire started. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please, help!” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The voice came from his left. He turned to the corner of the room still free from flame. Three small figures sat huddled in the corner, gripping each other tightly.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He kept his legs bent and his head low and walked carefully to them.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come here,” he reached out a hand and pulled the shirt from his face, “I'll get you out.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Only one of the three watched him - the biggest one, a girl, maybe 15-years-old. The others had their faces buried to block the smoke. The girl was shaking her head and pulling at her arm. Then Gipp saw the chains holding them to each other and to the floor boards. He moved closer, putting one hand on the girl’s arm before he turned to the chain. It was thick, bolted firmly to the ground at either end and wound through shackles on each child’s wrist. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This close he could see them all, the girl, a boy close to the same age, and a small child they were both covering with their bodies. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He thought of his sword outside, about using it to pry the chains loose, but at that moment a huge crash sounded through the room. The children screamed and Gipp lifted his arms, trying to cover them. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked back at the other side of the room, a beam had fallen out of the ceiling, landing on the table. The flames were closer now, running down the wall toward them. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp grabbed the chain, yanking at it, trying to rend it from the floor. He gave up after a moment, knowing it was too secure. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The girl was looking at him, her eyes pleading with him. He looked at her, sure she could see his desperations and fear. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He cast another look around the room for a tool. His eyes fell instantly on the fireplace. In the hearth a simple cook fire burned, the stone and mortar that separated it from the rest of the room as yet untouched by the inferno around them. An iron poker rested on the hearth. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp was up and across the room as soon as he recognized the poker. Flames reached out for him, some catching him on the arm. He pulled it back, and felt his skin twinge with pain. </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He hurried back to the children, avoiding a line of flame that was cutting across the floor. He went to pry the bolt from the floor, but the girl pushed a part of the chain in his way. It was the part attached to the shackle on the smallest child’s arm. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp looked into the girls eyes. She was determined, and still pleading. He nodded and worked the poker between two links, using the floor for support. He angled the poker and the chain spread, opening slowly. When that was done he loosed a link on the other side of the shackle, completely freeing the child. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The child did not move, but clutched to the boy. The girl pointed at him, and Gipp understood, he freed the boy next. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fire was over their heads now, embers flew in the air, burning Gipp’s skin as they landed on him.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp pointed to the window, telling the boy to get to it, to get out. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy scooped up the small child and ran for the window. Gipp watched just long enough to see that they were safe across the room before he worked at the bolt still holding the girl to the floor. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He ripped at the floorboards with the poker, which gave much easier than the chain would. In a moment it was up, the girl was free. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp lifted her and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. The fire was on all sides, working its way across the floor at them. Dodging lines of flames, Gipp crossed the room lifting the girl up toward the window as soon as they were close. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other children were gone. The girl grabbed onto the window frame, pulling herself up and swinging her legs though. She looked back into the room and reached out to Gipp, motioning him to follow her. He nodded.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She vanished from sight, dropped down on the other side, Gipp reached his arms to the frame and lifted himself up. Then the air was pushed out of his lungs and the window disappeared from sight. His head rang and it felt like fire was burning through the flesh of his back. He tried to scream, tried to lift his arms to push himself to his feet, but his body was heavy and his throat burned with pain. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last thing he saw was the world turning from bright orange to a shadowy dark. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the woods, Faski steadied his aim, the shot easy as long as the men were on level terrain. The first man was falling with an arrow in his back by the time Faski was taking aim at the second one. This time the arrow did not hit center, but struck the man in the side. He lost his footing, falling, grasping at the shaft. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski was on his feet, his sword drawn to run down the third man who was moving too erratically to track with the bow. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He spared a thought to Gipp, who it seemed had stayed in the field, maybe dealing with more of Marcus’ men. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The man Faski chased was fast, but was running wildly, darting from side to side, maybe hoping to shake loose his pursuer. All it accomplished was to give Faski a chance to gain ground on him. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski’s breath was steady, his eyes darting between the man ahead and the ground, avoiding any roots or stones. When the man heard Faski closing on him he let out a shout, a cry for help, but none came. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sword came down, the man dropped to the ground, the gash down his back soaking his clothes with blood. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski dropped to the ground, his knee sinking into a bed of rotting leaves. He lifted the man, turning him over to see his face.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What was Marcus doing up here!” He pulled the man’s face to his own. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moonlight cut through the tree cover in long, thick shafts. One shaft illuminated the man’s face, collapsed and covered with blood where he'd landed hard on a stone. Faski dropped him, standing and wiping his sword clean on the man’s pant leg. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Gipp!” He called out into the woods, seeing the orange glow of the cabin in the distance, “Gipp, where are you?”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He slipped the sword back in its scabbard, taking hurried steps back to the clearing. A low moan sounded from somewhere to his left. He stopped to listen, then turned toward the sound. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sprawled on the ground, blood soaking into the dirt, was a woman with a broken arrow shaft in her right side. The figure Faski had downed.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both her hands were covered in blood, and blood leaked out the edge of her lips. Faski’s arrow had hit her between the ribs, probably striking a lung. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Help, please,” she said, her hand grasping limply at the shaft in her side. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stood over her, his hand resting on his sword hilt. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What was Marcus doing up here?”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She looked at him, not lifting her head, but looking out the top of her eyes, her expression weary. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Crafters, children, he was trying to make them his.” She coughed and frothy blood erupted out of her lips. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Children? In that cabin?” He spun his head.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If they weren't going to be his, he didn't want anyone else to have them.” Her next cough was halted, her eyes bulging as Faski’s sword slipped through her neck. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He ran back to the cabin, as fast as he dared in the dense forest. The roar of the flames hit him along with the hot air as his broke into the field. A short distance from the now mostly consumed cabin there were small forms, huddled together. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He ran to them, dropping his hand from his sword when he saw their young faces. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you alright?” He asked, his hands moving from child to child, looking for signs of injury.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You have to help him,” the girl said, “he didn't come out.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Who?” Faski turned to the cabin, the flames so tall they blocked out the sky above.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked all around, seeing a long, metal shaft in the grass, a swordblade that reflected stars, flame and a cloud of smoke. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The man, the one who got us out.” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Man?” Faski didn’t know if anything could come out of that cabin alive now, then his eyes snapped wide truly understanding the girl’s words, “Gipp!”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He walked toward the cabin, the flames so hot it felt like his skin was already burning. Fire danced in the windows, through the planks of wood; most of the roof had collapsed. He crouched low, holding his arm out as far as he could, pushing the door. It gave slightly. Smoke belched out the doorway, one large flame licked out, then retreated back inside. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just inside the door, flames ate at the floorboards and a fallen beam prevented the door from swinging fully open. Faski ripped off his cloak, beating them back. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Gipp!” Faski called, barely able to hear his own voice over the roar. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flames danced around him as he tried to see into the room beyond. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To the left of the door he saw Gipp’s golden curly hair, then he saw the beam holding him to the floor. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holding his cloak over his face to block the smoke, Faski moved across the room as quickly as he could. The beam pressing into Gipp’s back was on fire, flames running along its top. First Faski tried up pull Gipp out from under it, grabbing his arm to drag him toward the door. He stopped almost instantly, seeing it was doing nothing to dislodge Gipp. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wrapped the cloak around his hands and pushed the beam, his feet sliding on the ground under him. At first Gipp moved with the beam, sliding to the side, but Faski lifted up, moving it off Gipp’s back and the beam fell, the flames wrapping around to lick at the yet unburned sides. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He took his friend around the middle, holding him just under the arms, and pulled him toward the door. Without the cloak over his mouth, smoke filled his lungs, making him cough. He cast an eye to the door, much of the archway now aflame. He kept his head low and walked backwards through the narrow space as fast as he could. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When he was out in the field he kept walking, pulling Gipp as far away from the cabin as his strength would allow before he collapsed in a fit of coughing. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp rested face down across Faski’s lap, his back a messy pulp of burns and blood. The cold air of the night felt good in Faski’s lungs, clearing out the smoke. He put his hand on his friend’s wounds, trying to judge their severity. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A small hand came to rest next to his, he looked up into the round, oval eyes of a young elf. The suddenness of it shocked him, it was rare to see an elf at all in this part of the world, let alone a child, who should rightly be in some protective grove of Matron Wood. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She might be able to help.” It was the boy speaking, standing just behind the young elf. Shackles hung from his wrists as he gripped his arms to his chest. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She is the only one who can use her craft at all,” the girl said, “but only to heal. She’s cured fevers before.” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Craft,” Faski said, haltingly, “you're all crafters.” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, not yet,” the girl looked at the ground, “We were on our way to the asylum in Wi'non when those people took us. But Rhi is an elf,” she put a hand on the elf’s shoulder, “she knew a little healing to start.” </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faski nodded, looking to the small child, his hands wrapped affectionately around Gipp. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please try, I don't think he'd survive the ride back down the mountain.” Hot tears ran down his face, clearing away the dirt and ash and vanishing into his beard. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The elf nodded, her spindly fingers moving in the air over the long red gash that ran from the base of Gipp’s shoulder blade almost down to his waist. The strain of it was obvious, the smooth, graceful lines that made up her round face twisted and bent in pain. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp stirred, jerking his head. Faski grabbed him on either side of the face, trying to hold him still. </span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don't move, you're hurt.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The children?” Gipp managed to say.</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They're here, they're safe. Lay still.”</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gipp put his head down and closed his eyes, Faski’s hand resting in his dense blond curls. </span></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-55056774426241939112012-09-26T07:51:00.006-06:002012-10-09T14:12:46.811-06:00Ice pt. 2Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/ice-pt-1.html">Ice, Part 1</a><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.01286687282845378" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She didn’t believe her father when he said the keep was close. Perched on the bench of the wagon all she could see in any direction were trees and snow. Behind the wagon, in a long train that reached so far back she couldn’t see the end of it, was her father’s household staff and the carts and wagons that carried their cargo to his new home. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her father was mounted on his great black and white steed talking to his Marshal, sometimes tossing his head back to address his children in the wagon. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The first order of business will be to make my presence and character known to the people.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord Wilham Devray looked much older than his years. His hair, which had once been a vibrant orange, was now scattered shades of grey. The long strands of it poked out of the hood that covered his head. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What people there are, my Lord.” Marshal Tilldon replied, his lips, pale from the cold, pulled in a deep scowl.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I wouldn’t have been appointed Landgrave here if there were no Queen’s people to guard.” He gestured to the local woman who guided them down the road.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The Queen has never guarded them before, nor did her mother, or the King before her.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Father,” Domani interrupted, leaning forward on the bench. “I thought you said that a Landgrave lived in this keep before us.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devray slowed his mount so he was riding alongside his daughter, “Yes Domi, many generations ago the Rikren Lords served here, but they abandoned the keep.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani pulled her gloved hands together in her lap, leaning forward so that long strands of her dark red hair now hung over the side of the wagon, “Why would they do that?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devray reached his hand out, pushing her back, “Be careful, the wagon could hit a stone at anytime, you don’t want to fall out, do you?”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” she shook her head, her red hair bouncing and flowing with the motion.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And put your hood back on, you’ll freeze solid like that.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She lifted her hood; the fur that lined it and her coat was soft against her skin and protected her from the biting cold, but it also made it hard to look around at the woods and road.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Despite your skepticism Tilldon,” the Lord addressed his Marshal again, “this land needs a strong hand to guard it.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Only because the Queen worries that without a Lord here the Glevens will seize it for themselves. Though I don’t know why they would, this land is too cold for even their thick skins.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t think it’s that cold,” Domani said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tilldon laughed over his shoulder, “Not all of us have such a mane of hair to keep our heads warm my Lady.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani laughed and wanted to run her hand through her hair, but only ending up patting the side of her hood. Though the cold had drained most of the color out of Tilldon’s young face, she still admired his round lips and his strong jaw, covered in a light beard. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why did the Rikren’s abandon their land, Father?” little Wilham asked, cuddled next to his sister.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The Yaldings had just invaded Glevemer,” Devray looked at his son, so bundled in coats, furs and scarves that his features were completely hidden, “Ian the Fifth, who was our King then, promised soldiers to aid to the Glevens. Rikren sent his largest force to the fight, then left himself a year later with his remaining men when the Yaldings made it into the King’s land. He was killed, as were all his heirs, and the King, and all the Kings and Queens after him, never appointed a new Lord here.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Until now,” Domani said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes, and it is a great honor.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tilldon scoffed at his Lord. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re sure Mildon is already at the keep?” Domani asked, she felt her brother shift beside her. Just mentioning the crafter’s name made him uncomfortable. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes Domi, he is working with the masons to rebuild the stonework that has collapsed.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Because our Lord’s new castle is in such disrepair that whole walls and stairways are nothing but rubble.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devray looked at his Marshal, his blue-green stare colder than the chilled air; it told Tilldon that his objections had gone too far. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tilldon acknowledged his Lord with a deep bow of his head. “Forgive me Sir, I’m sure this place will be a more than suitable home for you and your family. I only worry at the work needed to make it defensible.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The Queen has given us some of her best men to make it so. And I have faith in you Richard.” He rested a gloved hand on the younger man’s shoulder. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Horses all down the long line reared suddenly. The Lord’s mount went up on her back legs, crying out. He pulled at the reigns to calm her. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A long, wailing groan echoed through the trees, filling the white land with its sound, echoing off the flat ground. Little Wilham clenched tightly to his sister. Domani felt her guts clench and twist. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Father!” She called out. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devray’s eyes were wide, studying the trees and snow covered ground for the source of the sound. It ceased as abruptly as it started, leaving a heavy silence in its place. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It is the river my Lord.” The local woman, Abela, slowed her large, hairy mount to ride closer to Devray.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lord and his daughter both looked to the side of the road, to the wide, white frozen river that lay far in the distance. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It can barely be seen from here, how could it sound so near?” he asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abela pointed out over the snowy ground, “The sounds of the water deep below the frozen surface play tricks with the stone formations in this area. It can be heard a great distance away.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tilldon looked out toward the river, “And the other side of it, that is Glevemer?” he asked the woman.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” she shook her head, “That is the frozen island. The river branches around it up past the keep.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The island is that big?” the Lord asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The woman only nodded. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do the Glevens claim that as their land, or is it the Queen’s?” Tilldon asked, watching the island with suspicion.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The woman turned her head, her face serious and stern, “Neither Sir, that land belongs to the ice and snow.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why have a keep so close to the border, Father?” Domani asked. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It was not always a boarder, the land the Glevens now hold was once ours, but no longer,” he stopped for a moment and leaned forward in his saddle, pointing to the treeline ahead, “Do you see that? There is the castle.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domani lifted her head, wanting to stand in the wagon, but knowing her father would not approve. Little Wilham pulled a scarf away from his face expose his pink cheeks and bright red lips. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Above the pine trees a stone tower reached into the icy blue sky. </span></b>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-56651983341348022052012-09-19T15:50:00.004-06:002012-11-15T09:39:14.455-07:00Emma pt. 10<br />
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Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html">Emma, Part 1</a><br />
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The lamps in her room cast dim light against the stone walls. It was impossible to tell if it was day or night, one of the things Emma had always hated about her room. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She sat on the bed, her legs crossed, her hands in her lap. She’d tried to sleep, but after a fitfully tossing about for what felt like hours, she decided to wash and dress and wait for the morning. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The side of the oil lamps had lines along them, designed to tell the time as the oil slowly burned. Dawn was near, according to the lamp, and soon she would be gone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Soon she would leave this room, leave this house, leave the cold stone and the painted reliefs and her family and everything she knew.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She tried not to make it into more than it was. She would be returning here after the trip. She would see the same mattress, the same lamps, the same worn paths in the stone floor. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But she didn’t want to. It felt like a skin she was about to shed, she was sure if she tried to slip back into it after this it wouldn’t fit her anymore. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The room looked smaller than it ever had, empty with the few things she owned packed away. Her brush, three dresses, to wear in the city, the small book of poems her little sister had written for her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Everything else was part of the house, or would be of no use on the trip. The goods she’d bought with Rilen were all packed and sitting in saddle bags near the front door - some food, a tent, travel clothes, not including what she wore now.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The clothes felt good on her, soft and comfortable. She wore pants, linen and wool, dyed yellow, and a loose linen shirt, white with yellow trimming. She also had a leather coat and new boots to go with it, but those sat at the end of the bed, waiting for the dawn.<o:p></o:p><br />
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There was a soft tapping at her door. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Come,” she called.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The door opened but for a long moment no one entered. Finally a small head poked around the door, with brown hair done up in over a dozen small pony tales.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Tilda, what do you need?” Emma asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Her sister darted into the room, jumping on the bed next to Emma, wrapping her arms around his sister’s waist.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“I didn’t wake you did I?”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“No, I couldn’t sleep.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“How long will you be gone?” Tilda looked up at her with golden eyes. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Six weeks at least, more if we linger in the city.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Can I come with you?”<o:p></o:p><br />
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Emma laughed and Tilda blushed a deep red. Emma was sorry in an instant and took her sister’s face in her hand.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Not this time, but maybe someday. I’ll have to take the trip at least once a year. I’m sure you’ll be able to come along with me soon.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Tila?” A small voice called from the door, “are you in there?”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“I’m with Emma.” Tilda called back.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Moor walked cautiously in the room. He’d never been in Emma’s room before, never been into any of the bedrooms besides the one he shared with his sister. He wore a long white nightgown and his thin brown hair was a messy jumble. Emma held out her hand to him, encouraging him to come forward.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“You were gone Tila,” he said, his words still heavy with sleep, “and the door was open.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“I wanted to see Emma.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Emma’s leaving.” Moor rubbed his eyes as he said it, not looking at his sisters.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“I know that,” Tilda’s voice was stern, lecturing, “that’s why I came to see her.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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Emma felt something tug inside of her and was suddenly very sorry that she wouldn’t be able to spend the day with her siblings. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Will you bring me something from Blue Coast?” Tilda asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Me too!” Moor said, rather loudly. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“What would you like?” <o:p></o:p><br />
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“A horse!” Moor said, “so I can be as fast as you.” <o:p></o:p><br />
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Emma smiled at him, “Mother was reluctant enough about me riding a horse Moor, I think we’ll have to wait a few years before she’ll let you have one. But I could get you a wooden horse.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Yes, that, I want that.” He walked to the edge of the bed and reached up to her, expecting her to pull him up in her lap. She took his hands and lifted him up and he curled in her lap. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“What about you Tilda?”<o:p></o:p><br />
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The little girl thought, scratching her head between the clumps of hair.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“They have a lot of ceruleanite in Blue Coast, right?”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“They do,” Emma nodded, “but there is a lot here in Paldurian as well. Mother has necklaces and earrings and -”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Those are mother’s,” Tilda interrupted, “I want something of my own.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Right, of course. Then I’ll get you something of your own.” She stroked her sister on the cheek. <o:p></o:p><br />
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In her lap Moor was already fast asleep, breathing softly. They sat like that for a long time, the oil in the lamps burning steadily. Tilda rested her head on Emma’s arm and closed her eyes, soon drifting off. Emma wrapped one hand around Moor’s small arm, and the other around Tilda’s and squeezed them both lightly, trying to remember every detail of the moment so she could keep it with her. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Dawn came and went and Emma didn’t want to stand, didn’t want to disturb her brother or sister. She knew Deem would be there soon. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Emma, dear, do you need me to carry these –” her father rounded the door and stopped talking the moment he saw what was inside. <o:p></o:p><br />
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He stern eyes melted at the sight, welling up with tears. Emma smiled at him and put her head down on top of Tilda’s. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“I seem to be trapped.” She said quietly.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Her father lifted Moor out of her lap and held him against his chest. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Is Emma going now?” Moor said, still partly asleep.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Yes dear,” their father said.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Bye Emma,” he said, then rested his head against his father’s shoulder. <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Goodbye Moor,” Emma started to lift Tilda in the air, but the girl started awake, gripping at her sister.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Are you leaving now?”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Yes, the others will be here soon.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“I want to come outside and watch you go.” <o:p></o:p><br />
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“Of course you do dear,” their father said, “Let’s just put Moor back to bed, and then we’ll see Emma off.” <o:p></o:p><br />
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Emma put on her boots and her leather coat, which fastened tightly across her chest. Tilda poked and pulled at the clothes, obviously jealous. Then Emma took her sister's hand and they walked through the stone house. They passed the murals of countryside and mountains, and they passed the stone furniture. <o:p></o:p><br />
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When they reached the front door Emma bent over to pick up her packs.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Let me carry those for you, Emma,” her father said as he walked toward her, returning from Moor’s room.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Oh, only if you want to.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Of course I want to darling.” He smiled and lifted a strap off her shoulder, placing it on his own.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Where are Mother and Nelum?” Emma asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“They are outside with Eibe, waiting for you,” he nodded at the door.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Emma lifted the handle of the round door and pushed it open, letting in a wave of fresh morning air. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Nelum leaned in the archway just past the front door, scratching at his unshaven face. He saw Emma and smiled. Then he saw the load in his father’s hands and lurched forward to help him carry it.<o:p></o:p><br />
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“You don’t have to,” Emma said, “I really can get it.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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“Don’t be silly dear, it’s the least we can do for such a respectable Patron,” her father smiled.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Eibe and their mother sat together on a small bench next to the road, soft morning sunlight bathing them. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Eibe!” Tilda called and ran forward to her brother. He spun around and scooped her up, lifting her high into the air. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Moor will be so sad he missed you.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Oh, well I can stay until he wakes up.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Could you stay for lunch?” Tilda asked.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sure, I don’t see why not.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He still held her and she hugged him around the neck. Then he put her down and approached Emma. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“You really did give a wonderful speech at the Assembly, Emma. Even if it was on behalf of a human.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“It was on behalf of Deem.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eibe nodded, “Yes. Well, you know your duty. I trust you to make sure their business is run in accordance to dwin laws, not human ones.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was too early for Emma to be thinking about laws and rules and the Assembly. She had too much else to process, so she only nodded at her brother and held him for a short hug. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Shapes formed on the road, riders and horses, carts and kewels. Emma’s stomach gave a lurch. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Which horse will you ride Emma?” Tilda was now sitting in their mother’s lap; the Lady of Laudriel did not look pleased with the question. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m not sure Tilda,” she looked at her mother, “but I’m sure it will be a good one.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As if on command a rider broke away from the group and galloped forward, leading a horse by a long leather cord. It only took a moment for Emma to see Lison’s dark hair and his wide smile. Though she was delighted to see him, she knew it would have been better if Deem or Rilen had greeted her first, to ease any worries her family had about Emma traveling with humans.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison rode a dark black horse with a long white stripe down its nose; the horse he led was Juniper. He wore the same dirty leather jacket he had on night Emma met him, and his black hair was windblown. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma wanted to call out to him, asking why he wasn’t riding Juniper, but words died in her mind when she thought of her family around her. Then her face blushed and her pulse raced as she realized that Lison might say something about their midnight ride together. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She didn’t know how to signal to him to not mention anything, but the wink he gave her as he reared up seemed reassuring. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My little Lady of Laudriel,” he said, which caused Emma’s mother to scowl, “this sweet horse is Juniper. She will be perfect for you. She is small, well behaved, and patient with new riders.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you sure you won’t just ride along on one of the carts, Emma?” Her father asked, inspecting the horse and the man suspiciously. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll be safe Father, dwin in Blue Coast ride horses all the time.” She wasn’t sure if it was true, but it felt like the right thing to say. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By now the others in the party had caught up. Four carts and one wagon came to a halt on the road, along with a few horses, riders waiting in their saddles. Rilen sat at the front of the wagon, which was full of dwin and a few humans. She jumped down and ran toward Emma. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shall I put these on the saddle, or in one of these carts?” Her father asked as Emma hugged Rilen.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“Come here before you climb on that beast.” Her mother was holding out her arms to Emma.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen gave Emma a quick, supportive look, then Emma went to her mother, reaching out to hug her. Tilda jumped in, trying to hug both women at the same time.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Remember Emma,” her mother said in her ear, “this is not some adventure. You are the hand of the Ardent.” <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Emma pulled away her mother’s gaze followed her intently. Emma nodded at her mother while hugging Tilda one more time.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let me take those,” Lison said, jumping down from his horse and taking the saddlebags from Emma’s father and brother. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
He strapped them onto Juniper’s saddle and waited next to the horse for Emma. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Are you ready?” Rilen asked. Her hair was all tucked into a floppy hat, and she wore clothes that almost matched Emma’s but were green instead of yellow.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“As I’ll ever be.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My, you have those carts loaded very lightly, don’t you? You could have one less cart and set of kewel if you had packed them tighter,” Emma’s father observed. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s on purpose,” Deem called from the seat of his wagon, “this way if something happens to one of them we don’t lose all our supplies at once.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Her father nodded, his mouth turned in acceptance, but his eyes still doubting. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is our Patron ready to mount up?” Parien called from the back of her horse.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I think so.” Emma said.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Her father reached over and hugged her, squeezing her close before letting her go. Rilen returned to her seat next to Deem, and Lison held his hands out to Emma. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He raised his eyebrows at her playfully, and she smiled at him. He lifted her up into the air and placed her on the saddle. She was worried about riding off in front of her family, but Lison lead Juniper, keeping her steady as they made their way down the road. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
“Goodbye Emma.” Tilda called. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Emma turned to see them, her mother on the bench, her father now sitting as well. Eibe stood next to them, his arms crossed in front of his chest, the early morning light reflecting off his shaved head. Tilda was on Nelum’s shoulders, waving and smiling. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Emma waved back, then turned to the road ahead. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">---</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/10/emma-pt-11.html" target="_blank">Continue to part 11</a> </span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-34081773619150864122012-09-13T18:00:00.000-06:002012-10-09T14:10:26.733-06:00Emma pt. 9<br />
<br />
Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html">Emma, Part 1</a><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All the Overseers took their seats. Eibe sat in the far right chair. To his left was an old woman, bent with age and wearing a gray and white wrap. On the far left was a man with a long braided beard and deep red robes.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The proceedings passed so quickly Emma was amazed. The Assembly was called to order and contract negotiations began. In the past her time watching the Assembly had felt unending, each speech and motion taking what seemed to her to be hours. But today it all rushed by, four contracts were awarded before Emma had mentally rehearsed her speech once. She did not know if the world was moving quickly, or if her own mind was dragging slowly.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then Rorrick Hillsman stood and presented his contract, asking for petitioners. Emma’s gut clenched and she stiffened her legs to stand, holding her breath. Just as she was about to lift off the seat a call came from the other side of the seating, a nobleman from the Iralied Estates presenting a bid.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma shrunk down, wrapping her hands around each other. She had not known the other bidders would have Patrons of their own. She suddenly doubted if her speech would be good enough, if their offer would be acceptable.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Pft,” her mother scoffed quietly, “I wouldn’t trust that child to carry my laundry to the river.” Emma looked up in surprise. Her mother’s eyes were still stern, still disapproving, but there was a softness in her cheeks and mouth as she looked at her daughter. “Ze’Manel might partner with a human, but at least he can get a job done.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma smiled weakly, still confused.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There is no need to jump and call out like that fool did either, Emma,” her mother continued to whisper, “simply stand and speak calmly. It doesn’t matter when you present as long as your petition is the best.” She stopped for a moment, considering, then went on, “Being a Patron is a sacred duty. You would be the living body of The Ardent’s will. Remember that before you agree to this.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma nodded and breathed steadily. The noble sat down and a merchant sprang up in the second row. Parien looked over her shoulder at him, then up to Emma, her eyebrows pulled up questioningly.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the merchant sat down the Overseers asked if there were other petitions. Emma waited a few heartbeats in which it seemed whole hours passed, then she stood, exhaling and deep breath.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I speak on behalf of Deem Ze’Manel.” She said, a little louder than she intended.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a sound like a hundred heads turning the same directing, an untold amount of fabric rustling with sudden movements, then dead silence.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her heart beat like a fist striking her again and again in her chest. She ignored and looked directly into her brother’s eyes, suddenly so gratefully his supportive face was among the Overseers, that she thought she might cry.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She spoke directly to him, looking at eyes that were so like their father’s, except that they smiled along with his mouth and nodding very slightly at her.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The words came out just as she’d rehearsed, too quickly at first, but controlled after a moment. When she had described their resources and their contacts in Blue Coast she realized that while the Overseers would forge the contract, it would be Hillsman who decided it.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With great effort she turned first her head, then her eyes away from Eibe and found Hillsman. He was in the top row, almost in the direct center of the semicircle of seating. She explained what they expected as compensation and what kind of returns they would bring him from the merchants in Blue Coast.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she was done she looked around quickly, not sure what to do. She bowed to Hillsman, then to the Overseers and sat back down. Her father reached his hand to hers and clasped it tightly.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a long silence. Though Emma was aware it was always this way as the contract holder deliberated, it seemed a painfully long time to wait. Her palms sweated making the grip on her father’s hand slippery.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Overseers, please forge a contract between myself and Deem Ze’Manel.” Hillsman called sharply, his voice biting through the air.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma felt a yelp of joy in her throat, but she was able to hold it in and instead bounced her feet up and down. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eibe was scribbling on a parchment and the female Overseer answered Hillsman. </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It is forged. Emma of Laudriel will serve as Patron on behalf of the Assembly.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma’s mother dropped her hand over the two in her lap. She squeezed Emma’s hand very lightly and then pulled them apart.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You will need to review the duties and expectations of a Patron,” she said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I have mother, I’ve been studying for days now.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Just like Eibe,” Emma’s father nodded down to the table below, “you took your lessons seriously.”</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">“On </span><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">occasion</span><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” her mother said.</span></span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At another time Emma would have taken the bait and argued with her mother about her study habits, but she was too elated for that now. Her stomach felt light, almost too light, like it was floating inside of her, pressing against her lungs. She pictured Rilen and Lison outside, waiting by the statue. She imagined a line of horses and carts leaving the valley, on their way to Blue Coast.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Negotiations continued around them, more contracts were offered and forged. Emma didn’t hear anything that was said, didn’t notice who was standing or speaking. She could only think of the days to follow, of what was ahead of her.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Overseers called the Assembly to rest. All around the hall dwin stood, chatting, walking together. Emma stood to leave until she saw her parents were not moving. Below, Deem and Parien stood, looking at Emma, maybe waiting for her. She was anxious to join them. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I need to speak to Deem,” she said.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course dear, would you like to ride back home with us when you are done?” her father asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, I think I have some plans to make, I’ll come back on my own.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother looked up at her and nodded, her expression unreadable. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma walked quickly down the rows of seating, a few of the dwin smiling at her, congratulating her on the contract. She politely nodded at them and kept walking. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parien reached out a hand, grasped Emma’s forearm and pulled her close for a hug. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That was wonderful Emma, we couldn’t have done this without you.” </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes,” Deem stood with his hands on his waist, nodding, his gaze not quite reaching Emma’s eyes, “you’ve done us a great service. We need to get ready,” his eyes darted to the left and Emma turned to see what he was looking at. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hillsman was making his way to them, holding out his hand at Emma. She took it, grasping him on the forearm.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well young lady, you made a persuasive case,” he said, fixing her with a long stare, then casting his bright yellow eyes over to Deem, but still speaking to Emma “I will trust you to see this business is carried out according to the will of the Unyielding God.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course Sir,” she smiled and Hillsman let go of her arm. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You and I have some details to discuss,” Hillsman addressed Deem stiffly. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come Emma,” Parien put an arm around Emma’s shoulder, “let’s tell the others.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She gently guided Emma away from Deem and toward the round archway. They passed the stone table and Eibe nodded to Emma with a polite smile, then turned back to converse with the other Overseers. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma cast her eyes behind her, first to Deem, who had his feet wide and his arms crossed as he talked to Hillsman, then to her parents, who still sat in the top row where her mother watched her as her father chatted with a small crowd of noble dwin. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parien was talking about the trip to Blue Coast and what they would need to do to prepare. Emma tried to listen, but her mind was still racing, still processing that she had won the contract. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunlight stung her eyes and she lifted her hand to shade her face. It only took her eyes a moment to adjust but when she dropped her hand Rilen was directly in front of her grabbing her by the arms and asking her how it went.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Emma was perfect. We have the contract.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rilen grabbed Emma, pulling her almost off her feet into a fierce hug. Before Emma could recover her footing she was engulfed in another hug.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I knew you could do it little Lady.” Lison said in her ear as he spun her around. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You boys have work to do, let’s leave the ladies so they can get ready for the trip.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lison let Emma go, quickly running a hand down her cheek before saying goodbye and walking away with Sil. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still feeling off balance, Emma wrapped her arm around Rilen’s for support. Rilen squeezed her arm and started talking about the supplies they’d need for the trip. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sun had moved well past the middle of the sky and was nearing the other end of the valley wall. Warmed by the sunlight and still overjoyed about the contract, Emma followed Rilen to purchase supplies. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/emma-pt-10.html">Continue to part 10</a></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-54870919452531835022012-09-13T13:06:00.000-06:002012-10-09T14:09:58.326-06:00Emma pt. 8<br />
Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html">Emma, Part 1</a><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5136032055597752" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma wasn’t sure if the chill that ran through her as she entered the hall was due to the cold shadows or her own uncertainties. A steady trickle of people followed behind her, each moving quickly to their seats. She lingered in the open entryway, feeling out of place, and worried that people might be staring at her.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She cast quick glances around her, looking out the door, wishing desperately that Rilen had followed her in, then took a deep breath and walked to the seating. The stone steps were in the rear of the chamber, five rows of seating that formed a sweeping semicircle across the whole length of the hall. The first two rows of seating were given over to merchants and petitioners from all ranks of society, while the top three rows were reserved for noble families.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A stone table sat in the very center of the hall, carved up from the ground rather than resting on it, and three matching chairs were carved next to it, each with embroidered cushions. That was where the Overseers, her brother Eibe included, would sit.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma passed the table and wished her brother was already there, it might help her feel less alone. Though she had been to the Assembly half a dozen times to learn about the proceedings, she still felt out of place, slightly lost.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She knew many of the nobles that filtered into the seating around her, but few of them were anything she would call a friend. Those who knew her with any familiarity seemed to be casting surprised looks her way.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a moment she considered taking a seat in the first rows, on the other wing of seating from where her mother and father would be. They would probably not see her until she stood for her presentation. But she worried if she did it that way her mother would interject or cry out. That might shine a negative light on her petition.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sitting in the top row, in her family’s reserved seating, would mean confronting her mother sooner, but it would also mean a better chance at winning the contract. She climbed the steps and shuffled toward their seats. The stone was cold through her thin dress and she fussed with her sleeves, unsure how to let them rest. Finally she folded them onto her lap and clutched her hands together overtop them.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her heart pounded louder and faster than it ever did when she ran. It felt as if her body was thumping with it, she was sure the people around her could see her head pulsing to its beat.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She pursed her lips and breathed very slowly, sucking in a long drag of air, holding it for a moment, then releasing it. After a few controlled breathes she felt more relaxed, her pulse no longer throbbed through her.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her breath stopped altogether when she saw her father walk into the hall. His round face was turned up in a laugh that didn’t quite make it all the way to his eyes. The stern determination of his yellow eyes rarely vanished, threatening to pull his whole expression into a deep scowl at a moment’s notice, even in the best of humors.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He walked quickly, a group of dwin following him, hurrying to keep his pace. He addressed them over his shoulder, not seeming very interested in what they had to say.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma exhaled slowly and glanced around the entrance for her mother. At almost the same moment her father also cast his glance back to the wide doorway, the laughter dropping from his face in an instant as he struggled to look past the small crowd that now surrounded him.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He waved his hands, dismissing the dwin. They nodded to him, some reaching to grasp him quickly on the arm, and left him standing alone in the middle of the hall. When they were gone he put his hands on his hips and scowled at the door.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two figures walked through the round doorway; woman, short for a dwin, linked at the elbow with a man whose head was completely bald – Emma’s mother and Eibe. Eibe was draped in a long red and yellow wrap that made him look bulkier than he really was. Her mother wore a blue dress, decorated with a yellow sash and scarf.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma resumed her slow, steady breathing and mentally rehearsed what to say to her parents when they reached their seating.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eibe saw Emma before the others did, he pointed up to her and their mother’s gaze followed. Emma felt the heat of flush in her cheeks. She left one hand heavy in her lap and lifted the other, which took more effort than it should have, to wave down to them.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her father turned to where his wife and son watched and raised his thick eyebrow in confusion. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eibe led their mother across the hall to where their father waited. He kissed her on the hand before inclining his head to their father then climbing into one of the carved stone chairs in the middle of the hall. As their parents climbed the stairs Eibe tilted his shaved head, watching Emma curiously. She smiled weakly at him then turned her head to follow her parents up the seating.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You didn’t tell us you were visiting the Assembly today.” Her mother spoke the moment she was close enough, not bothering with any greetings.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You didn’t tell us you’d left the house today,” her father said with a smile that didn’t go past his lips, “I thought you were still in your room. What a shock to see you here, and wearing that.” He smiled and gestured to her dress.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many people took her father’s stern eyes for displeasure or disinterest. They thought his half smiles and stiff laughter were a sign of insincerity, but Emma knew otherwise. She knew his genuine charm and humor, but also the doubt and worry that plagued him.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother only stared down at her, demanding with her orange eyes, if not with words, an answer for Emma’s presence.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma looked ahead, watching the dwin in the hall slowly take their seats. She turned only slightly as she spoke, so her voice would carry to her mother, but she left her eyes out over the hall.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I have business here today. I’ve decided to sponsor a contract.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You plan to be a Patron?” Her father asked, taking his seat and pulling his wife, who bent stiffly, down between him and his daughter.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes. Deem Ze’Manel is petitioning to transport Rorrick Hillsman’s wares. I plan to be his Patron.” Emma turned, keeping her face as calm as she could, but hearing her heartbeat pound in her ears.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother’s eyes narrowed and darted to the side as she thought.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How much does he need from you?” her father asked.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He doesn’t need money, he only needs a voice in the Assembly.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ze’Manel,” her mother’s eyes shot wide, “the brother of that </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">friend</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of yours,” she turned to her husband, “the one that signed over half his business to a human.” She turned sternly back to Emma.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh darling,” her father said, “if you wanted to be a Patron we could have found a merchant looking for your support. You didn’t have to turn to your friends.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma wanted to say that they had approached her, but she knew that would be a mistake. Her mother would turn it around, claim Emma was being used. Instead she decided to ignore what her father had said completely, to act as though her actions needed no explanation.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The contract goes up today and I will be presenting for them. If they win I will have to travel with them to Blue Coast on their first delivery.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother’s expression told Emma she’d made the right choice, waiting until now to tell them. Her cheeks were sharp, sucked in, and her lips were a thin tight line. At home she would be yelling, accusing, but here she had to limit herself to a civil conversation.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You would </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to travel with them,” she raised one eyebrow, “do you even know the first thing about this business.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma quickly rattled off the facts about how many workers Deem employed, how much profit they planned to make, and which merchants they would work with in Blue Coast. For good measure she also told her mother about the two other petitioners Deem said would be presenting for the contract and why she thought Deem was the better choice.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her father nodded, impressed. “But would you really have to travel all the way to the Blue Coast dear?” he asked, “It is such a long way, and there are so few good dwin there.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma’s eyes were locked with her mother’s. Her mother’s look was full of accusation, but she said nothing. Emma looked at her defiantly, challenging her to put words to her objections. When her mother only sighed and looked away Emma knew she’d won.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pounding in her ears faded, and a feeling of strength moved up through her middle.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It would be my duty father,” Emma leaned and reached over her mother’s lap to grasp her father’s hand, he squeezed tightly, “and there are many good dwin working for Deem, and he and Rilen will look after me.”</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you win the contract,” her mother said, casting a stiff look down and the hands clasped in her lap, then up to Emma.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We will win the contract.” Emma said, </span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.40988470218144357" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">looking over the hall and putting her hands back in her lap.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deem and Parien had walked in, moving to the first row of seating. Deem gestured at Emma curtly, Parien waved with a flourish.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heads turned all around the hall to the tall, blonde human. Parien acted oblivious, and bent down to take a seat, whispering in Deem’s ear.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/emma-pt-9.html">Continue to Part 9</a></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-12492068052700658722012-09-11T09:11:00.002-06:002012-10-09T14:02:10.549-06:00Series links<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This post is a quick reference to help readers navigate the stories already posted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Emma - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html">Emma, Part 1</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/07/emma-pt-2.html">Emma, Part 2</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/07/emma-pt-3.html">Emma, Part 3</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/07/emma-pt-4.html">Emma, Part 4</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/08/emma-pt-5.html">Emma, Part 5</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/08/emma-pt-6.html">Emma, Part 6</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/08/emma-pt-7.html">Emma, Part 7</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/emma-pt-8.html">Emma, Part 8</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/emma-pt-9.html">Emma, Part 9</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/emma-pt-10.html">Emma, Part 10</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ice - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/ice-pt-1.html">Ice, Part 1</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/ice-pt-2.html">Ice, Part 2</a></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-89049742951073533302012-09-06T10:53:00.001-06:002012-10-09T14:11:02.098-06:00Ice pt. 1<b id="internal-source-marker_0.41513233073055744" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stood at the river’s edge more often than his brothers or sisters. The others tried to stay back, hidden in the trees, but he liked to watch the small forms travel down the distant road. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The river was still, the rapids frozen in place, white heads of foam suspended in air as they bounced over huge boulders. It ran on for miles, a long strip of blue-white cutting through the snowy ground.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deep below the frozen surface water still ran, a slow trickle that caused strange sounds to echo up through the ice. Pops and cracks and moans rang through the open expanse, carried by the rock walls on either side of the snowy field. Those who travel the road could hear it, even from so far away.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He crouched by the river bank, one hand between his feet, resting on the snow, the other forward, touching the frozen head of a rapid. The figures on the road were so small as to be almost indistinguishable. But he could watch them move, see them come into view, dark stains on an otherwise white landscape. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What if they can see you.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though he had not expected the voice, he did not jump or start. There was no one in their world of snow and ice who was a danger to him, there were only his brothers and sisters, and the one who had created them all. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe they can,” he looked down at himself, at his pale, icy skin and the few meager furs that adorned him, “but they’d have to have better eyes than mine to see me in all this white.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What is out there that is so worth your attention?” His sister knelt beside him, the pale skin of her knees sinking into the snow. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Right now I think there is a horse,” he gestured, “The large thing, darker than the others.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She squinted, “No, the large thing is a cart, the horse is what pulls it along.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Really?” He looked again, trying to glean as many details as he could from the tiny speck on the road, “They are not one being?” </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His sister laughed. She was older than he, and has spent many more years in the world beyond the river before joining their family. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When it became apparent that he would say nothing more she sat in the snow, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees. Her gaze drifted to his hand, still resting on the river of ice. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A loud cracking sound rang through the clearing; the siblings knew instantly that it was not one of the normal sounds of their home, not breaking ice, or a branch collapsing under the weight of snow. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sound came from the road. The large black form seemed to struggle, then topple to the side. The brother shot his other hand forward, now resting them both on the ice, his legs bent like he was ready to jump over the frozen waves.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sister’s hand shot out instantly, gripping his arm tightly and yanking him back.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What are you doing?” She cried. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He turned to her, his brow wrinkled in confusion. They held each other’s gaze for a moment, the blue spheres of their eyes, their black pupils and white irises, watched each other. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shook his head slowly, “I wasn’t going to cross it.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It looked like you were.” Her face was hard, her eyes full of worry.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stood and took his sister’s hands in his own, his eyes wide and sincere as he looked down at her, “I know not to cross, you don’t have to worry about me.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I think you shouldn’t be out here alone anymore.” She glanced to the side, to the road where men were struggling to right their fallen cart, “I don’t want something to happen to you.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nothing will happen,” he smiled reassuringly, “there is nothing on the other side of the river for me, I just like to watch.” He turned his head back to the road.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But why?” She pulled lightly at his hands as she asked.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shrugged slowly, “I think because it is there. It is so close to our home.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She tugged at his hands again, pulling his gaze back to her, “They have nothing to do with our home. They will not come here.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His expression was hard to read, a mixture of acceptance and disappointment. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come,” she stood with him, “He will be leaving today, we must say goodbye.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She walked away from the river, her hand tight around his arm. He followed reluctantly at first, casting longing looks over his shoulder, back toward the road, then finally hurried his pace. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Does He really need to leave again so soon? He just came back with the little one.” He asked his sister, who always seemed to understand their guardian’s motives so much better than the others.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He says he can hear another child calling to him. You know He cannot leave a call unanswered.” </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He nodded, though he did not truly understand. There had been a time, in the past, when he had been more boy than ice, and he had called for a protector, a guardian, and the Old One had come for him. But those memories, that life, had been so long ago as to almost be a dream. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The open field, the blanket of white snow, narrowed around them as they approached a thicket of pine trees. The branches drooped down, heavy with white, crusty snow. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His sister led the way, though he could find the Old One’s cave with his eye closed. He followed absently behind, striking branches occasionally to watch them drop their load onto the ground. The heavy snow would sink into the blanket on the ground, leaving large, uneven dents in the snowy surface. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His sister moved lithely, dodging branches, roots and stones without effort. Her small feet left almost no mark on the ground. He was capable of such movements, but prefered to see what impact he had on the land, watching his feet sink into the ground with heavy steps.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ground sloped and the rocks that dotted the land grew larger and more frequent. A quick, bright figure darted past them and musical laughter echoed all around.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy smiled and called out, “Brother, slow down, we’ll never catch up to you.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The laughter rang again, sounding as if it came from all directions at once. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their sister smiled, but her eyes stayed focused on moving through the trees. A huge rock face appeared before them and she slowed, letting go of her brother’s hand. They walked forward toward the rock and the boy tilted his head to hear the crisp sound of voices just beyond.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’ve come to say goodbye.” The voice was in his ear, loud and close.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He reached out before turning, grabbing at its source. But he was too slow. The tips of his fingers brushed against his brother’s hair, but the other boy was gone by the time he turned to look. A moment later the second boy appeared before them leaning against the stone. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was smaller than his siblings, shorter, with narrow limbs and a willowy frame. His thin face was cut in two by his broad smile, and his long white hair hung down below his shoulders. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes I’ve come to say goodbye,” the boy answered his brother, “sister says He’s leaving again.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thin boy nodded, his bright eyes moving rapidly, taking in every detail of his siblings, “That’s what I’ve heard. It seems soon, our newest sister has been here barely three moons.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She is ready,” the girl said, “and He hears another in need.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As they passed their brother he pushed himself off the rock face and walked with them. The voices grew louder. They followed the rock and soon the ground sloped down sharply to a small clearly were the rock opened into a wide cave. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below them were gathered about a dozen of their sibling. Some stood, some sat cross legged in the snow, and others hung off nearby branches. At the mouth of the cave stood a tall, hulking figure, wrapped in a countless variety of furrs. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The three walked down into the clearing, greeting their brothers and sisters. The thin boy moved quickly away, joining those in the trees, jumping from branch to branch before finally settling. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy and girl were among the tallest of their family, each standing a head higher than most of the others. They neared the cave and stopped next to two young girls.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first stood, watching the figure in the cave, the second was sitting on the ground, gripping tightly to the other girl’s legs. The small girl on the ground had skin unlike the others, it was tinted with color, still slightly pink. Her eyes were also different, still white, with only some small hint of blue leaking in, and her irises were a dark brown. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was their newest sibling, and the breath she exhaled still clouded slightly before her face. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy crouched down and smiled at her, seeing fear and dread in her expression. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What’s wrong little one?” he asked.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Father is leaving.” She squeaked, her words forming a small mist that hung between them. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The new ones often called him Father, though the title never endured. They soon learned he was not a father, not a parent, but a guardian and protector, a sentinel with a duty more sacred than parenthood. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy looked up to the cave, then back to the girl, “He is, but he will come back soon. He always does. He had to leave to find you, didn’t he?” The girl nodded. “And it’s good that he did, because now you’re with us.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He put his white hand on her cheek. It had been many weeks since she shivered at the touch of one of her siblings. She looked into his eyes and smiled weakly. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It does pain me to leave you.” The loud voice sounded through the clearing and each child look up at it, their eyes full of love and devotion. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy still rested his hand on his littlest sister as he watched the Old One speak. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The children had bright, shining voices like bells or a birdcall, but His voice was deep, resonating. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You are my life, my work and my love, to be parted from you is agony. But another is in need, one who belongs here with us. I will find this lost child and return here so our family can grow.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All around the children listened, some smiling, some frowning. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Old One’s face was mostly hidden by furr, only a blue patch of cheek and some stray locks of dark black hair were clear. Hidden deep, covered in shadow, were two black, sharp eyes. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I will be gone a half turn of the moon, maybe more,” there was a chorus of murmurs at that, “You will protect each other, guard each other. You will be my eyes and ears and hands while I am gone.” Many nodded now, the tall boy and girl included, their faces stern. The Old One raised a hulking arm, long enough that it reached down his legs almost to his feet, “Our home is safe, the craft that built it is older and more powerful than anything that could mean it harm. Each of you,” he moved his arm around, pointed to each child in turn, “gives it power, gives it strength. You are our home. Guard it well.”</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They had heard his speech before, each time he went to find another brother or sister for them, but each of them felt the words, the responsibility of what he said. </span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy watched the Old One leave, shufflingly slowly across the snow. The icy boy wrapped his arms around his little sister, holding her tightly in his arms. </span></span></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-61284003860915654882012-08-16T07:36:00.000-06:002012-10-09T14:09:48.973-06:00Emma pt. 7<br />
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Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html">Emma, Part 1</a><br />
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The Laudriel estate and the
Velshin field it boardered rested on the upper slope of the dwin valley. From
the front door of the estate, a huge archway carved out of the rock face, Emma
could see the valley spread before her. The sky was clear and bright, the sun
just rising over the eastern edge of the valley.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The upper slopes of the valley were mostly fields and
farmland, varying shades of green in a patchwork pattern. Other estates were
scattered throughout, but none were built fully into the mountainside like the
Laudreil estate. They spilled out of the stone, gray against the green fields
that surrounded them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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Further down the valley, following
the twisting roads that led down the slope, grey stone buildings dotted the
land. The closer to the center of the valley the denser the buildings grew until
the city itself appeared at the spot where the many roads converged. Dwin
houses and public buildings did not rise higher than two stories so it looked
more like a quarry of grey stone carved out of the center of the valley than a
collection of buildings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Ardent stood in the very
center of the city. Even at such a distance it looked massive, rising out of
the ground, taking up a space large enough to accommodate a dozen of the
surrounding buildings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He looked east over the valley,
his back pointed toward the distant coast, his head bent down, studying the
tools in his hands. Emma saw the statue from the side, his immense right arm
and shoulder hunched over his work. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She leaned against the carved
stone archway. It was a detailed relief of the dwin and dwarves working
together to build the city. Paldurain was one of dozens of cities dwarves
had helped erect. The dwarves had no permanent homes of their own, but moved
around through the land at the will of the Unyielding God, sculpting the world as
he saw fit. Some dwarves lived in Paldurain, side by side with their sibling race,
but the vast majority of them were nomads, making temporary homes in the
enclaves they built into mountains throughout the world. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A form appeared on the long path leading to Emma’s house,
emerging from a bend in the road. She suspected at once that it was Rilen, and
it only took a moment of inspection to know she was right. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She bolted forward and instantly regretted her attire. She’d
wanted to look professional, responsible, so had chosen a yellow silk dress
that went down past her knees. The matching shoes hit the ground and she could
feel the fabric pull and stretch against the gravel; too much running and she
would wear holes through them. The dress wasn’t too constraining, but its
flowing sleeves whipped behind her annoyingly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Emma,” Rilen called and waved, “are you ready?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” Emma said as she approached, “I am.” She stopped and
scooped Rilen’s hand in her own, “I’m going to do it, I’m going to sponsor
Deem.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen squeezed her hand and bounced in delight, “Oh Emma,
that is so wonderful.” Her face broke into a wide smile and Emma smiled with
her, laughing and wrapping her friend in a hug. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rilen finally pushed away and struggled to put her
expression into something more composed. Emma pulled back, but kept her wide
grin.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We do still have to win the contract,” Rilen said, “but
with the workers Deem’s organized, and with your support, we should have the
best proposal.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We should get there, I need to get some more details from
Deem so I’m ready to present my patronage to the Assembly.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They walked down the path at a much slower pace than Emma
would have liked, Rilen had not thought to bring the rabbit skin boots. The
packed gravel crunched under their feet and a warm breeze blew. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma asked Rilen questions about Deem’s business as they
made their way along the winding roads. She already knew most of what she would need to make her
presentation. The Merchant’s Assembly was a formal place, but not an
ostentatious one. Contract negotiations were straight forward, with the
petitioners plainly reporting what resources and labor they could bring to a
contract and what compensation they were expecting in return. Though many
complex political and personal factors played into every contract, those
matters were handled in private, not on the floor of the Assembly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only things Emma still needed to know were the specifics
of how many workers, dwin and human, would be employed, and the delivery
schedules. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sun slowly moved through the sky and the countryside vanished around them, replaced
by granaries, kewel stables, and other public buildings. Before them The Ardent
towered up toward the sky. As they approached the base of the valley the
enormity of the statue grew more apparent. It blocked out the sky above it and
hid the far slope of the valley. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even after visiting the city more times than she could
count, Emma still couldn’t help but crank her neck up to see the huge form. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His back was bent, his focus toward the ground where each of
his hands held carving tools. He worked at the rock from which his own leg
emerged, seeming to chip away the stone to free himself from the ground. There
was no platform or base, he appeared to carve himself out of raw stone of the
valley floor. Emma knew this was an illusion. The stone had been harvested
outside the valley and worked to look like one solid mass at the valley’s
center. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As they walked past ever denser clusters of buildings, still only
the very bottom of The Ardent was obscured. The city streets were cobbled stone and Emma quickened her
pace, feeling the smooth stone through the silk. Rilen hurried after as they
darted past grey stone buildings and dwin walking through the streets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people were dressed in the bright, fiery colors that
were popular among dwin, which matched their shining red and yellow eyes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The girls took the last turn in the winding streets and
emerged onto the open courtyard around The Ardent. This close, the details of
his form were finally clear. What seemed like smooth skin and cloth from afar
was revealed to be an uneven surface, shaped into many small forms. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before them was The Unyielding God’s right arm, but the
flesh of his arm was raised, rippling and folding. Emma had stood at the base
of the statue before, staring into the stone until the true shape of it was
clear. They were faces, hands, arms, people. They were dwarves. Every part of
him was made of hundreds of dwarves, each one a small part of his nature, an
expression of his will and his purpose. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There they are.” Rilen said, taking Emma’s arm and leading
her across the courtyard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Benches and topiaries were
scattered throughout the courtyard. Deem and his people gathered around one
bench, near the entrance to the Merchant’s Assembly. Deem stood next to the
bench, his hands on his hips as he spoke to the rest, Rilen called his name and
he turned and waved them over. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Parien was sprawled on the bench
behind Deem, one leg resting on it, her arm slung over the carved back. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison was behind the bench,
leaning on it, his head tilted up to stare at the massive back of The Ardent.
When he heard Rilen he turned as well, waving and smiling at Emma. In the
sunlight she could see just how pale his skin was, a milky white that
contrasted his dark hair. Most of the humans Emma had seen in Paluderian had
tan skin, so to her he looked foreign, exotic. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He leaned forward as
they approached and she saw another man who had been obscured by Lison. He sat
on the back of the bench, facing away from the monument, his legs resting
behind Parien’s head. His elbows were on his knees and he was watching the
Assembly Hall. Emma was sure it was the man she’d seen at the campfire. His
narrow, bony face looked the same, and messy orange locks surrounded his
head in a tangle. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Emma dear, it’s so good to see
you.” Parien said as she remained seated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“My little Lady, you look very
lovely today.” Lison inclined his head and Emma though for the first time that
her dress was rather nice, “You didn’t come to visit us at the campsite, Juniper
and I missed you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I had some work to do, and a
decision to make.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So, you’ve made up your mind?”
Deem asked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yes,” she cast her eyes quickly
from face to face, finally resting on Deem, “I’ll be your Patron.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deem exhaled a quick sigh and
nodded, and Parien smiled broadly. Lison rush forward and put his hands around
Emma’s waist, lifting her in a hug and spinning her once in a circle, the long
sleeves of her dress trailing behind. She let out a high pitched laugh and
wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. He placed her back on the ground
and Rilen took her hand, hugging her as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is wonderful Emma, thank
you.” Parien said, sitting up straight, but still not standing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I knew our little Lady wouldn’t
be able to resist,” Lison said, patting Deem on the shoulder. In the daylight
Emma could see Lison’s eyes were a dark brown, almost black. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The redhead turned away from the
Assembly Hall, and stared at Emma with blue eyes, his mouth a straight,
emotionless line. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Very good Emma. Thank you,” Deem
darted his eyes down as he spoke, then back to her face, taking a deep breath,
“You’ll need to be ready to present when the Assembly convenes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma explained what information
she already had, and what she still needed to know. He told her about the
workers, the size of the crew and how often they could make deliveries. She
recited her whole presentation to him, with the new data included, more for his
piece of mind than her own. Emma had a quick mind for facts and figures,
needing little repetition to commit something to memory. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That is excellent Emma. If you present it like that, Hillsman
would be a fool to refuse.” Deem clasped her around the forearm and squeezed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that they waited around the bench for a time. Rilen
talked to her brother about the dwin he’d hired, and the humans talked and
occasionally whispered together, drawing a few stares from passing dwin. Though
humans were not completely uncommon in Paludrian, they were not often seen
lounging around in The Ardent’s courtyard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison gestured Emma over to lean with him against the bench.
She did so and glanced up at The Ardent, aware of Lison’s arm brushing against
her own. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll love Blue Coast, there’s no other city in the world
like it. And the ride there is amazing, we’ll skirt the outer edge of Red Iron
Forest.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It all sounds fanastic, I can’t
wait.” Her head swam with pictures from her books and the landscapes she’d
constructed in her mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Still,” Lison gestured up to the
statue, “You won’t see anything like this in Blue Coast. This is something unto
itself.” He brought his hand down and sheltered his eyes from the sun, which
was now shining along the statue’s edge, “You start to understand why people
worship the dwarves when you can see what they did.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What?” Deem looked up in
confusion, “That?” He squinted at the statue and waved a dismissive hand at it,
“Dwarves didn’t make that. Dwarves would never build something like that.
That’s dwin work, built after the Divide.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lison looked at him in surprise,
“Dwin? But isn’t that the dwarven god? The Unyielding God?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dwarves didn’t build statues to
him,” Emma said, “they didn’t even really have a name for him, it was non-dwarves who named him The Ardent,” she shrugged,
“He wasn’t like the other gods who sat apart from their people, he was his
people.” She looked at the face of a dwarf emerging out of The Ardent’s back, a
clenched fist beside him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“And they were him,” Deem added,
“He was the purpose, their sure devotion, and they were the body, his hands and
tools. And when the Divide swept away the gods the dwarves went with them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought the dwarves died
fighting in the wars of the Divide, that they were all defeated.” Lison turned
to the side, facing Emma and Deem.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Many did, but some survived,”
Emma explained, “They sought refuge, they came here, to our valley. But even
though their bodies survived, it wasn’t enough. Their god was gone, they
were hollow.” Seeing earnest interest on Lison’s face, she continued,
“Different dwin recorded different things. Some say the dwarves stayed strong
to the end, noble in body and spirit, only finally vanishing because they no longer
bore children. But there are other accounts, mostly rejected by dwin
historians, that say as time passed the dwarves wasted away, finally becoming
marrowdead, empty of all life, only the vestige of a body remaining.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The redhead looked up at that, the
line of his mouth bent slightly, his eyebrows pulled down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How can a nation of people all be
one god?” Parien asked, “Did they all share one mind? Where they just drones?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s like Tunki’s Daughter,” the
redhead said, his voice higher pitched than Emma would have expected, “She is simply a river, but at the same time, from her headwaters in the Clavehounds to her alluvial fans out
into the ocean,” he waved his hand toward the west, “she was once a single
being, daughter of the goddess Tunki. But she still had streams and goosenecks
and branches. The water flowed through each small part of its own accord, but ultimately
it was all part of the whole, part of the one goddess.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Alluvial fans?” Parien said,
confusion on her face.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s...” he sighed in
frustration, “it’s the sand and dirt a river deposits at its endpoint, it
spreads out like a fan.” He opened his hands, spreading his fingers to
mimic a fan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Ah,” Parien nodded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well Sil,” Lison clasped him on
the back, “I think I understand what you’re saying about that river even less
than what Emma said about the dwarves. But religions never did make sense to
me,” he laughed, “it’s a good thing I was born after the Divide.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil nodded, his mouth pulled into
what might have been a grin, or a grimace. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They’re opening the door,” Rilen
said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They turned to watch as the round
stone doors of the Assembly swung open, a shaft of sunlight cutting into the
shadowed room beyond. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You go first Emma, take a set
with the nobles. Parien and I will be in soon.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just you two,” Emma looked at Lison,
then Rilen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We are the proprietors, we are
the only ones who should be there. Besides, I’m sure I’ll get enough
grief for bringing one human into the hall,” he turned to Lison and Sil, “You
boys, be ready when we come out, if we get the contract I want those carts
prepared before sundown.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We’ll be here waiting,” Lison
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sil nodded curtly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Good.” Deem said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’ll wait here Emma, I’ll see you
when you get out.” Rilen gripped her friend by the forearms and pulled her
close, touching their cheeks together. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A nervous knot twisted in Emma’s
stomach as she pulled away from Rilen. The dark interior of the Assembly Hall
looked cold and constricting. Claustrophobia swam in her mind as she thought
about entering and speaking to a gathering of noble dwin. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She closed her eyes, then opened
them again, glancing up to see Lison’s dark, glinting eyes. He winked at her
and put his hand on her shoulder. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She nodded and turned toward the
door.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/09/emma-pt-8.html">Continue to Part 8</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410973862317518265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-545007422510315820.post-77686717714495937612012-08-09T07:26:00.000-06:002012-10-09T14:09:38.565-06:00Emma pt. 6<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Want to start at the beginning? - <a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/06/emma-pt-1.html">Emma, Part 1</a><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
The pages of the book were brittle, stiff and brown from age. She turned them carefully, holding the cover of the book in one hand so as not to stretch the binding open too far. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each morning after breakfast she was to dedicate her time to reading and study. When she was younger her mother hired tutors to guide her studies, but now she was able to pick what material she desired. She often used the time to daydream about travel and about cities beyond the valley that held the small dwin homeland. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
The first thing she’d done after her breakfast of spiced bread and boiled eggs was to pull down all the books in her mother’s library about Patrons and the laws that governed the Merchants Assembly. She had glanced through them when Rilen had first told her about Deem's plan, but now she wanted to study in detail. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She was most concerned with the obligations of being a Patron, of what the Assembly would expect from her and how she could fulfill her duties. Getting the chance to see Blue Coast and travel with Rilen would be spectacular, but if it came at the cost of being constrained by bureaucracy just as she was by her family, she wasn’t sure it would be worth it. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From what she read, Patrons and their duties varied widely. Some were extremely active in their investments, often working side by side with those they sponsored, while others sat comfortably in their estates, interacting with their workers as little as possible. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some dwin had been reprimanded by the Assembly over their indifference. Patrons were charged with insuring the contracts forged at the Assembly were honored. To disregard that duty was a crime, and distinguished Lords had found their hands sentenced to hard labor when they failed to serve the Assembly. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were no restrictions on who could be a Patron, as long as they were from a family with a seat in the nobles’ court. The youngest patron in dwin history had only been twenty. He had sponsored an enterprise to import lime trees and sell the fruit to the coastal cities. The Merchant Assembly laughed at the time, many saying it was a mistake to allow someone so young to serve, but the business he helped found and the orchards his money helped plant were prosperous to this day. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The heavy tome Emma held was the guiding laws of Paldurain and its Merchant Assembly, laid down before the Divide, when dwarves and dwin lived together in the city. She closed it and set it down on the stone table. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next to it a larger book sat, open to a painted illustration of the bay at Blue Coast. The line between ocean and land was impossible to see. The blue waves rolled toward the land, and the blue sand was dotted with silver ink to mimic gleaming sunlight. The island city sat between two branches of Tunki’s Daughter, which poured into the bay, depositing the ceruleanite that gave the beach its color. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Levees lined the island, sloping white walls that channeled the river away from the city, protecting its clustered buildings. It looked like a massive ship, adrift in a blue sea.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Be careful, mother would never forgive you if you hurt her favorite book.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma lifted the page with the illustration and squinted in confusion at her brother who was crossing the room to join her, “I don’t think she’s ever even looked at this.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No,” he laughed reaching out and tapping the cracking cover of the legal text, “that. She always brags about owning one of the only pre-Divide copies in the city.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nelum was older than Emma, but shorter, taking more after their mother. His orange eyes were softer than his sister’s, and his long arms made him seem more dwarfish than the common dwin. But he had the same oval face she did, the same wavy brown hair, and he shared her passion for adventure, though not her disregard for dwarven custom.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma scoffed, “Like it matters when it was written, the laws are just the same.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He stood across the table from her, his arms crossed, “Sure, but dwarves held this book, maybe even bound it.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma shrugged, “Dwarves built this table to, doesn’t make it any less ugly.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nelum laughed and sat next to his sister, putting his arm around her. She sat rather stiffly, a more irritated than she had been a moment before. Thinking about the stone table in front of them reminded her of her childhood in their mountain home. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The white stone of the table rose up from the ground at many points - carved lines, twisting into ornate patterns. Geometric shapes encircled each other. One large hole was in the middle of the carvings on each side of the table and squares, octagons, and multi-sided stars spun around the circles. The stone grew thick toward the top where it gradually joined into one block, bending into a sturdy, smooth surface. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When she was a child her older brothers, Nelum included, used to force Emma under the table, in through the large circles, and tell her she was in prison. They would drops tools in with her and tell her she had to work to make up for her crimes. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When she was very young she lashed out at them. She would scream and yell, trying to climb back out, and when they pushed her in again she would bang at the stone work until their mother yelled at them, worried they would break it. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually she learned the thing to do was sit, her arms crossed, not looking at them, not reacting. Soon after that they tired of the game. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The memory of being trapped in the cold, dark interior of the table flashed so vividly in her mind that she wanted to slap her brother’s hand away and run out of the house, but Nelum was talking about the picture of Blue Coast, and his words distracted her from her anger. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There is a dwin neighborhood in Blue Coast, Dalana has a cousin who lives there. It’s a bunch of dwin that wanted to live outside our valley, some of them were even born in the city.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think it’s any different there? Do you think their lives are anything like ours.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He shrugged, “I don’t know. I bet it’s not all that different.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They don’t worship dwarves in Blue Coast.” She pointed out. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No, they worship ceruleanite,” she lifted her eyebrow at him quizzically, “or near enough. Without Tunki’s Daughter and the ceruleanite it deposits, they would just be another port city, one stop along the coast. With it they are one of the most important cities in the world.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma didn’t agree with that, but said nothing. Ceruleanite was common down the long leagues of the river, Blue Coast was far from the world’s only source of the valuable stones, and most of the ones that washed up on its beaches lacked any magical properties and were only good for decoration. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They sat, not speaking. Emma continued to stare at the picture and Nelum fidgeted, crossing and uncrossing his legs. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Anyway, you should come outside with me,” he finally said, “Tilda and Moor are doing their readings outside. We should go distract them.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma’s sister and youngest brother were still required follow their tutor’s prescribed readings. Emma recalled the times she’d been allowed to study in the sunlight, the warmth of it on her skin making the trudge through the dull texts bearable. She also remembered Nelum distracting her, making her mother yell at them for not studying and sending them back in the house. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“No thanks, I need to read some more.” She reached for a recent text, detailing the current members of the Merchant’s Assembly. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t tell me you plan on ending up like Eibe, boring and stiff at the Assembly?"<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Nelum,” she looked straight into his eyes, “what I’m planning is really none of your business.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<a href="http://clutteredshelving.blogspot.com/2012/08/emma-pt-7.html">Continue to Part 7</a></div>
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