Through The Fire: The Alawansi Book One

by Valerie Puissant

  The fading sunlight lit the scene with a golden glow. Even the meanest faces had wide smiles as the music and ale flowed. Even my mood lightened as I took in the revelry. Wylan’s face grew tight. He was not a fan of crowds. Grentu did not look much more comfortable.

  Uma looped an arm around Wylan’s free left elbow. “Come on, young man. I think I see a lady selling sugar mice and we all look hungry. You can get us each one.”

  He bent close to her ear as he spoke, “It would be an honor.”

  Uma was the only one among us who liked sugar mice so as she contentedly chewed hers, Grentu and I made our way to the honey cake vendor. We arrived as the man behind the table, clad in the traditional black frock of the Mirabi, pulled a dozen fresh cakes out of the brick oven behind him. My mouth began to water. He looked at Grentu and smiled. There was no invisibility among the Mirabi. They took the business of equality seriously. “How many can I get for you fine lady? Is this your gentleman friend? The cakes are fresh and hot from the oven.”

  Grentu bowed her head shyly, “I will have just one.” She began to pull out her small coin purse.

  I stayed her hand and spoke. “We will have six please.” I turned to her. “We will share some with Wylan if he wants any.” I gave her three of the hand sized cakes and took three for myself, then we went off in search of Wylan and Uma.

  We found them again by a games table. Uma was holding three sugar mice, pink, white, and green and she had also managed to find a drinking horn. I could smell the sweet rum punch on her breath as she laughed loudly. “Come on, mage! Have a little fun. I reckon you can win one of them little baubles if you set your mind to it.” Wylan surveyed the game carefully. There was a large, square table set with rows of evenly spaced wooden pegs. The man running the table gave a player three rings of rope for a small copper coin. The player was required to encircle one of the pegs with the ring in order to win a prize. I had watched Wylan at the archery range and knew his aim to be nearly as true as mine. I knew Uma would get her prize, a pretty circlet of dried flowers, wrapped in brightly colored ribbons that trailed down the back of the flower crown. Wylan handed the west country man a copper and got his three rings. Almost without hesitation, he tossed three rings and they landed in a diagonal row. One bottom left, one exact center and one top right.

  “Congratulations to the lucky young man! Three prizes for only one lovely young lady.” He looked at Uma as he spoke and pasted a charming smile on his face.

  Uma shrugged, “I will take me a yellow one. Let them kids take the other two.”

  He did not know about me, but Grentu stood by me and he did not even spare her a glance. I opened my mouth to speak on her behalf and she seemed to sense what I was about to do and she shook her head vehemently. I stopped. It was her right to choose her battle, not mine. Instead I turned and asked her what color she would like.

  “I do not have a face for one of those.”

  I dismissed the comment. “Okay, but which one is prettiest?” She pointed to one with deep pink dried rosebuds. It was lovely. I turned to the man and pointed to it and he handed it to me with a slight look of disgust. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind but I held my tongue and smiled, handing it to Grentu. She thanked me but put it in the pocket inside of her shawl. I made a mental note to talk to her another time.

  A large drum sounded in the middle of the courtyard and we all made our way through the crowd to see what the commotion was about. A herald stood, dressed in gold braided livery and announced the arrival of the king and queen, and visiting dignitaries.

  King Naser walked to the platform and stood in front of the leaders of the other three nations and their wives and he spoke to the assembled crowd. “We are living through a proud moment in history, when all the nations of this great continent have come together to act of one accord. We have set aside our differences to form a united South Lands, in order to defeat a great enemy. We are preparing ships and men to fight for the cause of continued freedom from tyranny and intimidation.” The king paused and a sea of citizens from all nations broke into applause. I looked at Wylan, and saw the muscles in his jaw tighten at the falsehood. The king continued speaking. “In just a few short weeks, we say goodbye to these brave men, and we pray for their swift and safe return.” He paused as to allow the murmured ripple of agreement pass through the crowd. “But now some of our fighting soldiers are with us here and we must honor them with song and dance.” The king raised his hand and the band began to play. The drums were hypnotic. It was hard to stay upset when the mood of the crowd was so festive. Uma raised her thin arms in the air and grinned. She pulled Grentu into the crowd of dancers despite the girl's protests. She launched into the steps of the victory dance with surprising grace. She swept Grentu up in her enthusiasm and joy and soon the girl joined in, heedless of who might disapprove of an Invisible in their ranks. No one took much notice. The ale and rum punch flowed freely and the mood of the crowd too celebratory.

  The music was loud, but Wylan leaned down close to my ear. I could feel the warmth of his breath as he spoke to me. “I cannot dance because of my condition and I do not feel much like celebrating, but please do not let me hold you hostage here on the sidelines. I can see the music is calling to you.”

  I was tapping my foot, but I had never learned how to dance as a man or woman. No one had ever asked me and I had never tried. I was just about to decline, when the honey cake vendor and his wife surged out of the dancing crowd and pulled me in. I was so taken by surprise I laughed. The dance was simple enough. We stood in concentric rings and danced around, each circle moving in opposing directions. The drum beat changed and we turned and began moving in the opposite direction. I could not remember when I had laughed so much.

  Uma dragged me away eventually. “These old bones are tired, child. Let us find your mage and get back to the tower. I fear my head may be a little worse for drink.”

  We found Wylan where we had left him and even he was wearing his half smile. We made our way back to the cart which took some time because Uma, like a magpie stopped at every booth of shiny baubles we passed. She found a man selling apple brandy and bought herself two jugs. She even convinced Wylan to buy her a pewter thimble and a hairpin with painted glass gems in it.

  We rode home in silence and the closer we got to the tower, the darker Wylan’s mood became again.

  Uma went to her bed as soon as we returned to the tower and Grentu stood in the kitchen eyeing her cot in the corner by the fireplace wistfully. She was not permitted to go to her own bed until we had retired to ours. I was not ready for bed and I did not think Wylan was either. Ordinarily when neither of us was tired, we would just sit in the kitchen and read or talk. It normally did not make sense to start a fire in the library in the middle of the night and the kitchen was usually still warm. Tonight we had an absolutely unprecedented full house, so we both said our goodnights and he retired to his room while I made the long climb up the tower to my cot in the workshop.

  I started a small fire in the workshop fireplace before I removed my robe. I had reached for the top lace of my shirt when I heard the uneven footfalls on the stairs. I paused, wondering if Wylan had decided to go down into the library after all. I resolved to follow him down if he had so that I could light a fire for him. He was capable of taking care of himself and I knew it, but it would be quicker and easier if I just lit one for him.

  The footfalls were not going down. They were coming up. He paused before his head came over the top of the stairs into the workshop. “Safara? Are you decent? May I come up?”

  “Yes Wylan, I am not wearing my robe but I am dressed. Please come up.”

  He continued upward until he reached the landing. I could only see his silhouette, outlined against the night sky and I thought about adding more logs to the fire to brighten the place, but something in his manner made me pause.

  I sat on the edge of the cot. “Did you need the workshop? I can just build up the fire for you and go down to the
library.”

  “No, please stay. I wish to speak with you.” He pulled a chair from a low table and sat it across from me some distance away, making sure he was in near darkness as he spoke. “The queen was wrong, you know. I am not as ignorant as she imagines. I knew the harm I could do by taking you from your home and bringing you here to be my apprentice. I knew I could have just taken a week to teach you enough control so that you would not be a danger to anyone and I could have left you with your family, reputation more or less intact, but I did not. I was so stupid and selfish that I only thought of my own loneliness and desire for companionship. I did not want to think of you. I did not want to think what living here would do to your life and your reputation. Now you are to be banished from your own country or be labeled a whore and an outcast, all for something you did not even do. I really thought I could fix it. I thought if I simply left and moved south, we could visit each other and we could still work together. What an utter fool I was. I am so sorry for my ignorance and my selfishness Safara. I understand if you hate me and do not wish to speak with me for I am angry with myself for having put you in this impossible position.”

  I was astonished at the revelation. Of all the things I had expected him to say, I am sorry was farthest from my mind. I wanted to go to him, but I kept my seat. “At great personal risk to yourself, you took me in. You fed me, clothed me, taught me and you have never once tried to take advantage of my vulnerable position. You have shown me my strength and given me the guidance and then space to develop my talents. You have taught me the meaning of true friendship and made this cold stone tower, a home I never want to leave. We cannot change the ignorance of society for the benefit of our innocent, if unusual, relationship. I must leave the castle and I must leave the city, but I may not have to leave the country. Perhaps I can find a place to settle far from castle gossip. I can continue to sell arms to the king and you can come and visit me often.”

  “You will need the protection of another government to keep you safe. You are a valuable commodity and the king will try to secure your talents if you stay in the country. But if you go to Geronia, I can still come and visit, if you will have me.”

  “I will have you and I will count the days between visits.” I felt relieved that we were talking. I felt as if the distance that had separated us for an agonizing month was finally bridged and that the rest of our time together need not be so tense.

  He stood and replaced the chair. “I guess I had better get to my own room. We are a day behind in production, but it was a day well spent. We had better both get some sleep.” On impulse, I stood and hugged him. We had been together nearly two years and this was the first time that I had embraced him. A warmth enveloped me the moment my body made contact with his and it surprised me. I heard his slight intake of breath too. A few moments later, his large, strong arms encircled me and we stood there holding each other for much longer than should have been proper. It felt so good, neither of us wanted to let go. Finally, reluctantly he was the first to pull away and I dropped my arms. He held me at arm's length. I could barely make out his face in the shadows, only his eyes glittered in the low light. His expression was unreadable, but his voice was rough when he spoke again. “Good night, Safara.”

  The sun was already high in the sky when I woke the next morning. I put on my robe and headed down the stairs and found Wylan coming out of his room as well. Red stained his cheeks at the sight of me. He gestured for me to walk in front of him and though we did not seem to be back on speaking terms exactly, the silence between us was much more easy.

  Uma and Grentu were already up, Grentu was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed in front of her as Uma put the finishing touches on her hair. “I am braiding black knitting wool into her hair,” said Uma “It has covered up the bald spots. Right pretty, ain’t it?”

  I looked at our servant. The wool plaits were done in the West Country style, much like my own. Girls with shorter hair often used knitting wool to make it look longer and fuller. It was a fun and common fashion accessory for many girls. For Grentu, it was transformative! The shoulder length fall of hair completely covered her ruined scalp ear and cheek. With those features covered, it quickly became obvious that Grentu’s actual face was almost completely unscarred aside from the blemish pulling at the corner of her mouth. She was actually a rather pretty girl. “You look lovely, Grentu!” I meant the words.

  “Beautiful,” agreed Wylan.

  “I need to get going today and I am taking this young lady with me. She is a witch, not a washer woman and she needs training.” Grentu looked just as excited and nervous as I had when I went on the road to train with Wylan.

  I squeezed her hands. “I know you are going to be an amazing witch. It will be scary and difficult at first, but you can do it.”

  Wylan smiled at her. “We have both been through it so we know, you are going to be a great witch someday, Grentu.”

  Uma sniffed. “Now y’all are going to give the girl a swelled head. She got a lot of learning to do yet, so ain’t no account of making her too full of herself now.” She gestured at the bags by the door which were now joined by Grentu’s small cloth sack. “Girl, go and load our things onto the cart and wait for me out there. I got a few more things I need to say to these young people before we take our leave.”

  Grentu nodded and ran to do as she was asked. Uma turned to us. “Now, I know already that this little living arrangement you got here is coming to an end. I need to know how you plan to end it?”

  I spoke up. “I intend to leave the country as soon as we have enchanted enough weapons and armor to stock the warships.”

  Uma shook her head. “No, that ain’t how it goes at all. You will be leaving here, Safa girl, but you ain’t going alone.” She turned to Wylan. “Wherever she go, you are taking her there and that is an order, young man.” Wylan hesitated a moment as if the thought never occurred to him, then he nodded. Uma pulled a roll of thick paper out of her deep pockets. “Now, what I got here is a map and some instructions. I know what y’all need to do. You got three months to prepare. I put down the exact date here. I put some warding magic on that cart you got out there, you need to load it down for a long journey. Put in supplies for both of you, cause you are both going. Wylan, you can decide what you want to do once you get there, but you will get her there.”

  Wylan looked Uma in the eye, just as he had when he had brought me on the journey. “You have my word on it. I will get her there safely or I will die trying,”

  Uma nodded, satisfied. “That is all I am asking. Now I need to get on the road with this new one. Don’t you two fret over her too much. She is going to be just fine.” Wylan and I saw Uma out the door and helped her into her cart. We stood and watched them drive away until we could not see them any more. Neither of us even realized we were holding hands until we turned to re-enter the tower.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It took a while for my senses to identify the sound of the pebbles hitting my bedroom window. I was at my desk, writing in my private journal. It was late and Wylan and I had spent a long day in the workshop enchanting weapons. I was just about to change into my night clothes when the noise at my window interrupted me. I had read romantic tales of suitors wooing maidens in this manner, but I had no suitors. I crossed to the window and looked out. It was Jabari, son of Savan and my old friend standing at the base of the tower holding a torch so that I could see his face clearly in the bright moonlight. He beckoned to me to come join him.

  I slipped into my robe and put my hood on my head, then I quietly opened my bedroom door and crept out into the hallway. I knew my passing would be more or less silent and even if it was not, Wylan most likely would not be alarmed enough to ask about my late night movements. I had freedom to roam where I liked, whenever I liked.

  I hurried through the dark kitchen and out of the back door where my old friend stood. He had filled out in the months since I had last seen him. His large arms were now corded with th
ick muscle. The expression on his handsome face seemed much more serious and less dreamy than it had when we were closer. It was no longer the face of a boy.

  I gave him my hand in greeting. “It is good to see you, old friend.” I realized it was true. I had been so caught up in the happenings in our home, that I had not thought much about him, but I truly was glad to see him now that he was here. “What brings you to my window at this late hour?”

  He looked at me and frowned. “C-Can you take off that ridiculous hood? I cannot talk to you while y-you are wearing that thing.” I knew most of my face was hidden in shadow. I had taken to wearing my hood every time I exited the tower, afraid someone would suddenly notice my femininity. I removed it for my friend and smiled. He smiled back, though his brow wrinkled in puzzlement as if he was noticing something about me he had not noticed before. The expression quickly cleared and he flashed me one of his broad, dimpled grins. “Now it is good to see you too, Safi.”

  We stood in silence and I was keenly aware of the cool distance that had developed between us. In times past, we would easily have found things to discuss, but standing in the moonlight, in back of the tower, we had nothing to say to each other.

  The silence between us stretched uncomfortably long and we both sought to break it by speaking at the same time. I stopped and ceded the floor to him. “I-I came to say goodbye. T-Tomorrow morning the army begins the journey to the east country to board the ships for war. I am going with them.”

  My eyes widened. “So your father finally gave you permission to go? That is wonderful news!”