by A J Park
Now, of all times, his people could not afford a disagreement among themselves. They had chosen to follow Kalleck this far. He had to see this through to the end.
CHAPTER 15
Lady Shalyrie Almorin
Shalyrie woke to see the sun coming in through the windows. Her head felt clear and cool, and she was ready to get up. The fear of a few nights ago was fading. She was all right, and Kalleck was safe. She sat up and realized that her shoulder was better and her legs weren’t so painful. Her face was still tender, but the swelling was nearly gone. Better. She stretched and smiled.
She went to the balcony and looked down on a small grassy courtyard. The walls of the building surrounded it on three sides, with an arched doorway on the fourth that led outside the building. It was a beautiful day. She could see the sun shining on the mountain peaks, far beyond the city walls.
She took a deep breath. Everything seemed more hopeful in the morning.
She walked around the room, looking at the woodcarvings in the beams and at the tapestries, mostly depicting horses. She’d stayed in this room for weeks now, but there was nothing here that was hers, except for one ruined dress and a pair of riding boots.
What time was it? She’d just realized that she was very hungry when Kellji knocked and came in. She had a tray in her hands and a black bundle under one arm.
“Good morning, Shalyrie,” Kellji said in Yalkur.
“Good morning, Kellji,” she replied.
“Will you eat?” Kellji set the tray on the table.
“Thank you,” Shalyrie sat down gratefully and began to eat. “Where is Kalleck today?”
“He will come. Will you walk today?”
Walk with him—where? Into the city? Would she walk with her eyes covered? She didn’t know the right words to ask her questions in Yalkur. She shortened it to one word and asked, “Out?” while pointing to the door.
“Yes,” Kellji said, and her eyes smiled.
Out. Shalyrie still wasn’t sure what that meant exactly.
Kellji was holding up some clothes for her to see. Shalyrie stared at them as she finished her breakfast. They looked a lot like the clothes the Yalkur riders wore, except they were the right size for… her. Surely they couldn’t be serious? She turned to Kellji, then pointed to the clothes and then herself.
Kellji laughed and said, “Yes.”
Shalyrie got up and took a closer look. There were riding pants with the inside of the legs lined with leather. She had never worn pants in front of anyone before. She’d never worn them at all, except during her ride with Sinnar, and he’d been trying to keep her from freezing to death. “You wear these?” Shalyrie demanded, looking at Kellji’s dress. “Men’s clothes?”
Kellji shook her head. “Yalkur clothes. For riding. Men and women wear them.”
What would King Telthan say if he saw Shalyrie dressed like that? He had always emphasized how important it was to dress and act properly. But he was far away and, if she was going out, she wanted to blend in.
So she put them on.
She felt her cheeks color when she looked in the mirror. She had never seen another Almorian woman wear pants before. Was it proper to go out like this? It felt so free. She could move unhindered by her skirts.
She examined her reflection critically. The pants were close-fitting, and a long-sleeved tunic that belted at her waist went over them.
Everyone could see her legs, which was not considered appropriate for Almorian women. But then again, when it was hot back on the island, sometimes she wore a dress that came to her knees. She turned back and forth in front of the mirror. Her legs were covered after all, even if their shape was visible. It didn’t look too bad, and it felt liberating.
Kellji touched the dark bruises on her face. “Did Farak do that?” she asked.
Shalyrie nodded.
Kellji spoke, and Shalyrie missed some of the meaning. Kellji was speaking fast and there were too many words. “Kalleck… sick, he asked me to help you. I went to your room and you were gone. I looked. I… didn’t know where you were. I kept looking, and I asked Sinnar to help… He found you… Farak hurt you. The man is a—” Kellji muttered a word Shalyrie had never heard before, but that was clearly not complimentary.
“Thank you,” Shalyrie said. She realized that Kellji had truly become a friend in the past few weeks, and her protectiveness made Shalyrie feel better.
“Today is better,” Kellji said, smiling. “Will you cover your face?”
Cover her face? Her golden hair stood out sharply against the black clothes, but if her face and her hair were covered, she could almost look like a Yalkur. The thought of being able to see the Yalkur without being instantly conspicuous as an outsider was attractive. One side of her face was still badly bruised, so she could cover that up too.
Kellji helped her braid her hair and put a Yalkur hood on her head, then wrapped the ends around, covering her face. “Now you can go out. Kalleck will come soon.”
When Kellji was gone, Shalyrie put on the boots Sinnar had given her and went back to the mirror. If she hadn’t known she was looking at her own reflection, she would not have recognized herself.
She looked like the Yalkur now. Faceless, colorless. But she was still the same person inside. She still had feelings and dreams and fears. Everything about her was still the same, only now it was all hidden.
It must be like that for all the Yalkur.
Kalleck was soon there. He stood there looking at her, and she looked back, trying to tell from his eyes if he was pleased or amused, or something else. She couldn’t read the expression in his eyes.
“Shalyrie,” he said finally. “I…”
He paused as if he was having a hard time finding the words he wanted to say.
She looked back at him, waiting. “You act like you’re trying to give me bad news,” she said, suddenly worried. “It’s not Olthorin?”
“No, I haven’t heard any news from him. It’s not that,” Kalleck assured her. “I need to ask you something. I know that you didn’t choose to be here in our city, among the Yalkur. That arrow almost took your life, and I… used you as a hostage.”
She looked up at him and put her hand on his arm. “It was a terrible day. I saw what was happening. You did what you had to do.”
“But I’m sorry,” he said. “Not just me, but my people. You have done so much for us, and you’ve tried to help us with no thought for yourself. And we… wish to express our gratitude. The Council has agreed that, if you wish, you may learn more about us and see our city.”
Shalyrie was astounded. The Yalkur were such private people. Everything about them seemed hidden, mysterious. For them to adjust their customs for her had seemed impossible.
“You will allow me to see the city?” she asked in disbelief.
“It would be my honor to show it to you,” he said, offering his arm. “If you wish to go.”
She felt a wave of fear. What if they met someone who felt like Farak? She had her face covered. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to tell she wasn’t Yalkur. Besides Kalleck was wearing his sword. He had used it before to defend her. “Will it be… safe?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said firmly.
She looked up at him. “I would love to see the city with you.” She took his arm.
The two of them walked out of the room. They actually walked out of the room. She stood in the hall outside for a moment and just looked around. “You have covered my eyes every time I’ve gone through that door.”
“Never because I wished to,” Kalleck said.
They went down the stairs. Shalyrie saw a large central hall. A long table stood in the middle of it. There were three chairs at the head of the table, and there were more along each side. “This is where the Yalkur Council meets.”
He led her across the hall to another door, and they
went through it and up more stairs, out onto a terrace. She could see that this building stood at the highest point in the city, permitting her to look down over it and see the gates. From where they stood, the land rose in rocky cliffs to meet the mountainside. The city had been built on the foothills of a tall range of mountains, but it was high enough up that she could look over the whole valley. The mountains stretched in a great arc from north to south, surrounding the lowlands. To the northwest, a blue lake was set like a jewel against the feet of the mountains. The sun was rising behind bare jagged peaks that left the city in their shadow. She could see the shape of them spread across the green floor of the valley.
It was beautiful.
Shalyrie took a long, deep breath. There was something about this place. She couldn’t describe it exactly, and it was so very different from her home, but she loved it here.
As she turned to look in all directions, she saw Kalleck standing a few steps away watching her. For the thousandth time, she wished she could see the expression on his face.
This was the first time she too had covered her face. If she couldn’t get him to show his face, at least she could choose to show hers. She pulled down the cloth and smiled at him. “It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. “Thank you for showing it to me.”
“Do you really… like it here?” he asked slowly.
She came closer and put her hand on his arm. “I like it,” she said.
His eyes smiled in return, and he covered her hand ith his.
“Will you tell me what I am seeing?” she asked.
He pointed out toward the water sparkling in the morning sun. “That is the Sacred Lake. If you look west, beyond those hills is the Aranak valley where I was born.” He turned and pointed into the sunrise. “The pass is up there. You can see the road leading toward it, and that ridge you see at the southern and eastern edges of the valley we call ‘the Rim.’ If you climbed to the top of it, you would see the ocean.”
Shalyrie shaded her eyes and squinted into the sunlight, trying to see where the pass was. She had been there several times.
“Do you wish to go down into the city?” Kalleck asked her.
“Yes,” she said. There would be people there. She felt a flutter of fear in her stomach. Would his people accept her? Would they hate her?
But she took his arm and they walked down into the city. She wrapped the ends of the hood back around her face so that only her eyes showed.
The city seemed quiet and orderly despite how many people seemed to live in it. The city was divided into sections, Kalleck explained, one for each clan. They appeared to have a complex system of exchange between people and clans.
The Farmer Clan grew grain and baked bread. As Kalleck and Shalyrie walked, the scents wafting from a nearby bakery tempted them. They went into it and tasted the bread.
Kalleck showed her the forges, where the Iron Clan was hard at work, making weapons. Their faces were masked even as they worked, and she wondered if this was just for her or if they usually did it. One of them, a large heavily muscled man, stopped what he was doing and set down his hammer when he saw Kalleck.
“First Guardian,” he said, extending his big hand.
Kalleck grasped the hand. “Ammur,” he said. Turning toward Shalyrie, he added, “This is Lady Shalyrie Almorin of the Sea-King’s family.”
Ammur offered his hand and Shalyrie extended hers. “Thank you for saving the life of our First Guardian,” Ammur said, grasping her hand. “I am honored to meet you.”
“Shalyrie,” Kalleck said. “Ammur is Chief of the Iron Clan, and a member of the Council.”
“I’m so happy to meet you,” Shalyrie said.
“You are welcome in our city,” he said warmly. “If there is any way the Iron Clan can serve you, you have only to ask.”
“Thank you,” Shalyrie said, overwhelmed with gratitude. She had been so afraid that none of them would ever accept her.
They passed through other parts of the city, where the weavers and tanners and cobblers had their goods displayed. “The clans work together, each one doing their part to help the Yalkur.”
Shalyrie looked at everything with great interest. They passed a shop where riding boots were being made, and she looked down at her feet.
“Is this where these came from?”
“Probably,” Kalleck said.
“Sinnar was angry with someone, I remember. But he got the boots.”
“It was hours before dawn,” Kalleck said. “I would guess that he woke up the cobbler and made him find them for you. Knowing Sinnar, he probably threatened to use his knife if the man didn’t hurry.”
“He wouldn’t really…?”
“Of course, he wouldn’t,” Kalleck assured her. “But the cobbler didn’t know that.”
They went down to the stables. Shalyrie knew she’d been there before, but now she could see the many rows of stalls. They walked past many horses until Kalleck stopped in front of one.
“His name is Night Wind,” Kalleck said, and she recognized the tall black horse. “You’ve ridden on him before. Would you like to now?”
“I told myself I would never ride a horse again,” she said. “After the ride with Sinnar…”
“I know you were hurt,” he said.
She nodded. “I can’t do it again.”
“It was because you rode for so long without rest. When you start, you should ride a little at a time. Then you can get used to it. But perhaps another day.”
Kalleck and Shalyrie walked through the gates and along a footpath to the river. Each seemed lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the water’s edge, they sat on the grass under a tree and watched the current.
“It’s very peaceful here,” she said, breaking the silence. “I’m grateful. Usually when we are together, some life-and-death crisis is going on.”
“That is true,” he said. “You have been forced into my company many times now. You have a choice now, of course. I could assign someone else to show you around, if you prefer.”
She looked at his masked face, trying to read some expression in his eyes. How did he really feel? She wasn’t ready to ask him directly, but she knew that she wanted to spend time with him. Not someone else. She had never wanted Galenor’s company nearly so much.
No. She wasn’t going to say anything to Kalleck. If she let herself care too much, this whole thing was going to end badly. She didn’t want to admit how much she wanted it to be him who showed her the hidden valley of the Yalkur.
“Is there anyone else here who speaks Almorian?” she asked. She didn’t think there was—otherwise Sinnar would have brought that person with him when Kalleck was so ill and he needed desperately to communicate with her.
“No,” he said. “But if you wish for someone else…”
“I don’t wish for someone else,” she said. “I need you to explain everything.”
She still couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. Did he realize that the language was only a small part of why she wanted to spend time with him?
“As you wish,” he said. “What do you want to know?”
“Will you tell me more about the Yalkur clans?”
So they sat together on the grass and Kalleck explained that the farmers raised grain and fruit, and many other things. The tanners raised cattle and made useful things from the leather—boots, armor, saddles and many other goods. The Iron Clan were metalworkers, and the Stone Clan were builders and craftsmen. Many of them crafted wood as well as stone, making furniture and other things besides buildings.
“Much of the Hall of Guardians was built by a brilliant stonecutter named Adak. He expanded and added onto the building while my father was First Guardian. When it was done, he left the city and went…”
Kalleck stopped talking, and Shalyrie realized at once what he meant.
�
�Newport,” she whispered horrified. “Did he go there?”
Kalleck nodded. “He was a good friend of my father. I always thought he must have stood with him when—”
Shalyrie put both her hands over his. “Don’t say it,” she pleaded. “It breaks my heart. If only we had known sooner! If only the king had not sent Governor Galenor. They could have made their colony somewhere else. If only—”
Kalleck cut her off. “There is no such thing as if only. It does not exist. My father was a great man. He lived, and he died. There is nothing we can do about it now.”
“Only try to save other lives,” she said. “I feel that I must try to help them.”
No one should die fighting this pointless war. Not Kalleck. Not Olthorin or any other of the young men who were simply trying to protect their people.
“I am on the same path as my father,” Kalleck said. “We have to defend ourselves, our people and our identity. We have lived here for a thousand years. We will not easily abandon our ways and leave.”
“And why should you?” Shalyrie said. “It is not our way to conquer. There is enough room. We will find a way, and the king will help us. Maybe Olthorin is already there with him.”
“I hope so,” Kalleck said. “I wish him safety on his journey, and I will tell you the moment I hear any news of him.”
“Thank you, Kalleck.”
“In the meantime, we wait. And you have a little time to enjoy the sunshine.”
It was evening when he left her at the door of her room. “Do you wish to see more tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Then I will see you in the morning.”
He closed the door and was gone.
Shalyrie went out to the balcony to watch the clouds turn pink with the setting sun. Her thoughts turned to the day she’d just spent with Kalleck. In spite of her situation, she really enjoyed the time with him. How did he feel about the time they’d spent together?
CHAPTER 16
