The Legend of Sirra Bruche (Roran Curse Book 1)

by Heidi J. Leavitt

  They were married in a quiet ceremony in a grove of trees near the settlement. Randa was present, the trip a gift to the couple from Morek-Li. Randa had just finished her latest stint as a servant teaching her associates, and she stayed long enough to help Andie arrange the rough new house that Laeren built for them. Then Randa was off once again to infiltrate yet another manor.

  The next year was a happy one, though it was physically harder than anything Andie had ever endured, even the Academy. Building a new settlement from scratch, especially working to survive completely independent from any of the cities, was exhausting. Laeren and Andie hardly had a moment to spare. Yet the year was magical for Andie in a way—Laeren was a considerate husband who loved her just the way she was. Adjusting to marriage was another new challenge for Andie, but her husband was incredibly patient and their lives began to fit together smoothly. The people of the settlement gradually stopped regarding her as a stranger, and Andie felt like she had been accepted into a larger family. Laeren, finding that she had some sensible suggestions for military training (from her Armada background), included her on his leadership committee.

  The harvest that year was a good one, and Laeren retired Andie from farm work. Instead, she sat in on the discussions about turning the Resistance into a military force that could challenge the kingship. Halfway through the second year, Laeren made Andie take a break and she spent her new forced inactivity watching the final stages of completion of the compound. The compound was finished just before Andie gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Tiran.

  At the beginning of their fourth year living in Faroi Colony, things seemed to be going very well. Tiran was a healthy baby, and she brought a new joy and purpose into Andie’s existence. Motherhood took her by surprise. She had never been particularly fond of babies, but her love for Tiran overtook and colored her whole life with wonder and a fierce protectiveness for her daughter. It was fascinating to watch Tiran grow every day; though Andie was more tired than she had ever been in her life (even as a farmer), she had never felt more fulfilled. She finally stopped aching to return to Zenith, though occasionally she wistfully wished her parents could know their granddaughter.

  ♦

  Once the colony was fairly well established, Andie found that she had more time to enjoy living on an island. She didn’t know much about Corizen’s geography, but Faroi seemed to be located in a nearly perfect place. The weather was mild nearly year round. Summer was noticeable only because of the humidity and extra rain. Living within sight and sound of the ocean was something she never tired of. Every once in awhile when a neighbor was available to watch Tiran, Laeren and Andie would sneak away to walk on the shore, or maybe even swim in the bay. Laeren was so busy that those nights didn’t come often, but they stole enough private moments together that Andie felt almost perfectly happy. Part of her wished they could just forget the Resistance and live out their lives peacefully on Faroi, but she knew Laeren would never be happy with that. Even with the King so far away and the caste system nonexistent in their little village, Laeren’s whole existence focused around the preparation for the coming revolution half a world away. He lived for the periodic ship arrivals that brought news from Morek-Li, as well as new leaders to train. Idyllic though Andie thought their life was, Laeren was impatiently waiting for the day when they would head back to Roma to challenge the king directly.

  One late evening in the summer, after Tiran was asleep and their neighbor Maya had promised to keep an eye on her, Andie and Laeren had slipped off to the pier. The pier had been one of the first construction projects in the colony. It jutted out into the bay and provided a dock for the visiting ships, as well as a place to fish. Since the protein in their diet came mainly from fish, fishing was one skill that everyone practiced constantly. This particular evening they were hoping to catch some sea bass. At dusk until late in the night, thousands of shimmering little minnow-like creatures invaded the bay, attracting the schools of the sea bass that preyed on them. Since it was late in the season for the minnows though, Laeren and Andie were joined on the pier by only one other colonist, a man named Mica. He smiled knowingly in their direction and moved a little farther down the pier to give them a little privacy.

  Once their lines were set, Andie sat at the edge of the pier, swinging her legs over the edge and looking up at the elder moon. It was just waxing toward the full moon and the light cast a glow over everything. A warm breeze rustled past them, and Andie felt perfectly content. For once, even Laeren seemed able to put off his worries about the Resistance. He silently watched the sky with her as they waited for a tug on their lines. It was a very comfortable silence. Over the past four years Andie had learned that Laeren, though he was a capable leader and confident in most social situations, was not the kind of man who liked to bare his soul. They had spent many hours like this, simply enjoying each other’s company. Or he asked her questions about herself until she had probably told him every little detail about her life on Zenith. Laeren claimed that he knew her family almost as well as she did—and he probably did in a way. He eyed her carefully when she told him about Casey, probably because there was still a note of regret when Andie told Laeren about her childhood best friend. It wasn’t that she wished things had worked out with Casey; rather she regretted her last angry parting from him, since it had turned out to be a permanent farewell. At least she had been on good terms with her parents and sister when she disappeared. There was nothing to regret there.

  Andie had also finally shared with Laeren her grief over her brother Erik’s death and the long, painful road she had traveled to finally forgive herself for her small part in it. But occasionally she did wonder what memories Laeren kept hidden within himself. She knew that he had lost a sister as well. Malene had died as a little girl, but Laeren didn’t talk about it. Andie wasn’t even sure what Malene had died of. She had been married to Laeren long enough to realize also that he had taken his father’s death seven years before particularly hard. His father had helped found the Resistance with his friend Morek-Li, and Andie suspected that part of Laeren’s drive to make the Resistance succeed came from his desire to make his father’s last dream come true. Yet she only guessed these things about her husband. The deepest part of his heart was like a shuttered house, closed and locked from her view. She turned and studied his face for a moment. He was gazing up at the stars, his face relaxed. Even his almost permanent worry lines had smoothed out.

  “Do you miss flying?” he asked her suddenly.

  “How can I miss flying on a night like this?” she answered playfully, sweeping her arm at the sky.

  “No, I’m serious.” He sat up and turned to face her. “You never complain, but it was such an important thing to you.” She sighed heavily.

  “Of course I miss it, Laeren. It was glorious to fly over the hills and feel like I had broken free of gravity. But it was nothing compared to how important you and Tiran are to me. If never flying again is the price I have to pay to have you two in my life, I think it was a bargain.”

  Laeren considered this thoughtfully.

  “Still, it does not seem fair. I have you and Tiran also, yet I did not have to give up anything.”

  “Well, what would you give up, if you had to?” Andie asked curiously. In part she was teasing, but some part of her really wanted to know. Would Laeren give up the Resistance, for example? If it was the only way he could have his wife and child?

  Laeren was silent for so long that Andie began to wonder what he could possibly be thinking about. Finally, he shrugged. “Nobody should have to give up anything,” he said flatly. Andie almost got offended, but then Laeren turned to her with a smile. “And so, my dear wife, I solemnly promise that one day, I will make sure you get to fly a ship again.” Andie knew he was avoiding the subject, but she didn’t want to fight with him so she smiled in return.

  “You promise?”

  “I do. I, Laeren Bruche, swear bef
ore Veshti himself that someday you will fly again.”

  His words took her by surprise. To swear an oath before Veshti was not something any Denicorizen took lightly. Oathbreakers were considered worse than murderers. For Laeren to vow such a thing meant that he would do everything humanly possible to get her to fly again. It was strange that he would feel so intensely about it, but she recognized the love and sacrifice behind the promise. Andie slid closer and leaned up against him. Laeren put his arm around her and once again silence fell while they waited for the fish to bite. It was easy to just enjoy the moment and forget all that the future might bring.

  It was her last night alone with Laeren in Faroi.

  15. Nightfall

  On a sunny morning less than a week later, Andie was spending the morning alone at the upper planters. They had several crops nearly ready to harvest, and there was the constant danger of losing them to birds or small rodents. A couple of the men had built wire cages that could be placed over most of the plants to protect them, but they had learned from previous experience that it was still best to have someone watching the planters when the crops were nearly full grown. So Laeren had proposed a rotating schedule—nearly everyone in the colony had a shift of guarding the crops, and Andie’s turn had fallen this particular morning. It was easy work—mostly it meant walking along the terraces and shooing away any animals that came near. Since Tiran was toddling about now it was too difficult to bring her along, so Maya was watching her along with her own son.

  The food crops were growing in planter boxes that ranged up the steep hillside that shadowed the settlement. Andie was responsible for the highest level of planters, and it meant that she was too far away to hear any of the noise from the colonists going about their day. It was quiet and peaceful with just the chatter of the birds for company. The morning passed uneventfully, interrupted only by a few moments of scaring away the birds. Just as her stretch of guard duty was coming to a close, she could hear shouts coming from the lower terraces. For a second she froze, trying to make out any words, but she was too far away. Was it worth leaving the crops unprotected to go see? It would be just her luck that she would run down the hill only to find that it was just excitement over an extra large fish down at the compound, while the birds stripped the grain stalks that poked through the protective cages on her watch.

  While she stood indecisively looking between the planters and the trail, Maya’s husband Bak rushed into view.

  “Sirra, come quick!” Bak called breathlessly. “Are you the only one up here?”

  “Jan and Zarson are further down,” Andie said, pointing toward the terraces lower on the hill.

  “I’ve found everyone then,” Bak panted. He was still trying to catch his breath.

  “What is it, Bak?” asked Andie nervously.

  “A ship!” he sputtered. Startled, Andie immediately started back down the hill with Bak.

  “Not a Resistance ship?” Andie guessed. Otherwise, why would there be an uproar? Or had one of their ships run into trouble?

  “I don’t know,” Bak said. “We were just given orders to bring every one down that we could find. Laeren already sent the children in the crawlers to the west fort. Maya took your Tiran and our Ashur with them.” Andie quickened her pace. Tiran was already gone? If Laeren was evacuating the children, this ship must be a threat. It was almost certain that Laeren would be sending the rest of them hiking after the children to the fort.

  Finally, after a whirlwind race down the hill, she stumbled after Bak into the compound clearing where a large group milled around, anxiously talking over one another. Picking Laeren’s form out of the group, she hurried to his side. As soon as she caught sight of his face she relaxed a bit. Laeren looked more excited than alarmed.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked breathlessly.

  Laeren quickly kissed her hello. “One of the scouts spotted a boat. We have visitors.”

  “It’s not one of ours?”

  “No, I do not think so. But it is one of my father’s company ships.”

  “Really?” Andie breathed. Those ships had all been seized by the king when Laeren had been named an outlaw. Its arrival at Faroi couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “It’s coming around the south end of the island now. They will probably reach the pier within the next hour. We need to decide what to do.”

  “We have to take it out, Laeren,” said Lyal, obviously continuing some debate. Lyal was Laeren’s second-in-command, and he was fiercely protective of the colony. Some of the colonists laughingly accused him of paranoia, but Andie knew Lyal was just practical to the point of hardness. He was neither careless nor sentimental when it came to defending the secrets of the Resistance.

  “Lyal, we cannot attack a ship just because it comes too close to us,” another man argued. “For all we know they could be coming to join us.” Andie realized that they were talking about whether to sink the ship. One of the only defenses the colony had was a couple of antiquated cannons. Andie had never seen anything so unwieldy in her life, but Laeren had assured her they were accurate and effective. Would this be their chance to find out? Andie wondered if the Royal Guard could be using the ship to try and attack them. Even if it wasn’t the Royal Guard, they couldn’t risk anyone returning to report their location to the King. But to fire on the ship without any warning when they could just be innocent civilians . . . Andie watched Laeren anxiously. As leader of the colony, he would have to make the final decision.

  “I am going to go meet it,” Laeren determined. “I can think of only one person who would know about this island. He was the first officer on the ship that originally scouted it for me.”

  Lyal shook his head but did not argue. Clearly he thought this was too risky, but he was not going to defy his superior.

  “I don’t know why he never came sooner though,” continued Laeren. “He was captaining one of my other ships when the king outlawed me, but I was never able to make contact with him. Even if it is Frond, I don’t know that we can trust his crew. We will evacuate the compound just in case.” he said. “All the civilians will go to the eastern hill fort. All the armed squads will stay here in case the ship does prove to be a threat.”

  Immediately, Lyal began to issue orders and the group swiftly dispersed. Andie had to admire the smooth discipline of the colonists. Laeren had been training them well. She knew that she should be joining them; after all, she would barely have time to pack a small bag for Tiran and herself if she was going to hike all the way to the eastern fort before dusk. Yet she hesitated, torn between conflicting desires. On one hand, she knew that her first priority was to keep her daughter safe. On the other hand, she couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Laeren here without knowing what was going to happen.

  “Laeren,” she implored, her voice torn. He turned to her and pulled her in closely.

  He answered her unspoken thought. “I need you to go to the fort, Andie,” he said in a low voice. “It’s your job to make sure that Tiran is safe.”

  “But what if something happens to you? I just can’t stand not knowing. Besides, I actually have some real experience fighting from my Armada days. How many of your men can say that?”

  Laeren just shook his head. “It is not going to come to fighting. It’s almost certainly Frond, and I would bet my life that he can be trusted.”

  “You are betting your life,” muttered Andie. Laeren ignored her statement and lifted her chin gently so she was looking him directly in the eyes.

  “I love you. But I am giving you an order. Go to the fort with the others. Our daughter needs you.”

  Andie silently submitted. In other circumstances she would have argued further, but he didn’t have time to waste on this, and anyway, he was right. Tiran had to come first.

  “Harbane!” Laeren called to a waiting man. “Take Sirra and go meet the others at the beginning of the eastern path. You are th
eir escort to the fort.”

  Andie quickly kissed Laeren one last time before joining Harbane and starting for the edge of the clearing. Just before they left the settlement, she turned back for a last look. Laeren was already striding down the path that led to the pier. Taking a deep breath, she silently wished her husband luck and followed her escort up the rutted path leading her away from her home.

  ♦

  It was a horrible, endless night. Andie and her fellow civilian colonists reached the fort just before the sun dipped below the horizon. Tiran was ecstatic to see her mother and refused to let go of her the rest of the evening. The fort was built to be an emergency shelter for the colonists, and it was equipped with only the basic necessities. About thirty people, most of them women and children, were sharing one large common room with about half enough blankets to go around. Dinner had been plain flatbread with dried fruits, and most of the children were growing restless and grumpy. Though everyone was tired, most were finding it impossible to sleep. The children would not settle down, and the adults were worried about what was happening back at the shore. Andie herself did not sleep all night. Tiran finally dozed off in her arms sometime after midnight, but when the morning sun finally seeped through the slatted fort windows, Andie was exhausted and irritable. Another cheerless breakfast was followed by more waiting.

  Finally, Andie couldn’t stand it any longer. They should have had some kind of word by now. She left Tiran napping near Maya and stalked to Harbane’s side. He greeted her guardedly. Already he had been besieged by various complaints. Andie gestured for him to follow her outside so they would be out of the hearing of the others.

  “Harbane,” she began as soon as they were alone, “something has to be wrong. They should have sent a messenger to us by now, one way or the other.”

  “Maybe not,” hedged Harbane. “It’s possible they have a delicate situation they need to control first.” She eyed him steadily and he shrugged. “Come on, Sirra, you don’t know what’s going on there.”